Join Diane, MotherOwl, Mimi and me in exploring this topic. You can leave your poem in the comments or post on your own blog. If you do the latter, please leave a comment here so we can trundle along and find you and your poem.
Use the topic, or choose another. The idea is to work our brains a bit and enjoy doing it.
*****
Before I proceed, thank you once more for your kind and thoughtful comments, and for the poems you contributed last Poetry Monday. I just could not seem to find the mental energy at that time to reply individually, but please know I read them all and appreciated your thoughts so much.
In the same way, I hope that the families of those killed two weeks ago have benefited from the support of folks across Canada and abroad. Our provincial newspaper printed some of the many messages they received for Nova Scotians and the kindness directed toward our province was comforting and uplifting.
Last week our province was hit with more loss. A Canadian Forces helicopter based in Halifax, Nova Scotia, crashed off the coast of Greece, resulting in the deaths of six Forces members. They leave behind children and spouses and parents and friends trying to cope at a time already full of great stress.
It will take a long time for bereft families to begin to look to the future again without their loved ones in their lives, and I wish them strength and peace as they make their journey through grief.
*****
Now for this week's poem.
Although I'm feeling more like myself now, I used the free verse format because it's easier to write, and because I wanted my message to be very clear for you, my friends in Blogland.
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Thank You For Being A Friend
(click link for the song by the same name)
When I was young
I thought a friend
Was someone exactly like me
We'd get along so well
We'd like the same things
We'd think the same way
It would be like finding the twin I never had
The twin I always wanted
The twin I realized eventually
Was impossible to have
I've lived a few years
(Quite a few years, to be honest)
Now I see friendship differently
Some friends are just like me
Some are sort of like me
Some are nothing like me
But the thing that makes them friends
Is that I can always find in them
Something I like
Something I admire
Something I can learn
Something I miss when we're not in touch
A missing piece
Like a jigsaw puzzle piece
One of many who make the picture of me
Complete
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Good advice from the kittehs |
I had a very good friend named Dirty Dan Lafitte who died of bone cancer twenty years ago. He hailed from the island of Cuba and was a direct descendant of Jean Lafitte the pirate.
ReplyDeleteHe used to say: "What makes any two people friends? Only they know."
Your poem reminded me of him and that saying.
Briana is in the hospital in Fresno. She was playing with our furry little terrorist of a cat and he bit her hand, and as cat bites sometimes do, it got badly infected and when a red stripe appeared leading away from the bite, Zsuzs said "Get your stuff and get in the car, you're going to the ER."
Said ER in Fresno is more than an hour's drive from here, although she said the roads were deserted and she "made good time."
Zsuzs is a very good friend.
So is Briana.
When they got to the hospital, they were met outside of the ER by a nurse who gave both of them masks and told them that they currently didn't have any covid patients there.
So please let me publicly thank San Francisco mayor London Breed, the health director from Santa Clara County, and her fellow health directors from the other five Bay Area counties who got together BEFORE there was a massive outbreak and imposed stay at home guidelines weeks before anywhere else, thus saving the Bay Area from a NYC level of infections, because had they not done so, there likely would have been covid patients in the Fresno hospital and all three of us might have it right now.
But we don't.
Because a few courageous and wise people did the right thing, and the public recognized it as such and complied.
You see, the thing about friends is that you don't always actually know them all when they demonstrate their friendship.
-Doug in Sugar Pine
Your accounts of Briana and Zsuzs definitely show them to be very good friends. I'm glad you have them in your corner. And SO glad the hospital was free of COVID-19 when Briana had to go. Cat bites are bad news. Our cat bit me once and although I doused it in alcohol immediately, I required antibiotics within 24 hours. It's a scary thing to watch that redness grow.
DeleteIt's crazy that more places didn't jump on this virus more quickly. Thank goodness for those who did; they've saved countless lives. If only others had done the same.
Hi Doug, I hope Briana is home soon. It seems you were lucky in all respects and yes, thank God for the friends we didn't know we had also.
DeleteNove Scotia is having a rough time. You forgot to throw in covid -19. Many Nova scotians are going through some incredible grief. I wish them well.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Red - and now Alberta is going through a hard time with the flooding in Fort McMurray. This virus adds another layer of misery to regular hardship. I wish Albertans well in return.
DeleteThere's just been too much for Nova Scotia. I'm sorry. Your poem about friendship is so true. A good friend can be totally different but yet still be an amazing and supportive friend. And of course I love the kitties! Take care my friend.
ReplyDeleteThank you Bonnie - our differences can be our strengths, right?
DeleteLove your poem, and echo its sentiments. Consider me singing along (badly) with you.
ReplyDeleteAnd hugs.
We'll sing along badly together, my friend!
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DeleteThis is all so true. So brilliantly and succinctly expressed. I am applauding you here.
DeleteWell done, Cherie. True friendship takes many forms. Thank you for contributing.
DeleteLove it! Well said. :-)
DeleteLOVE the hugging kittens :)
ReplyDeleteKittens make everything brighter, don't they? :)
Deletei am feeling bit embarrassed right now as hubby asking with his eye bros "what is wrong"
ReplyDeleteyes your poem has made me cry quite a lot dear Jenny seems like my words in your mouth and how beautifully ,easily and simply YOU ARE AMAZING ,KIND SWEET AND SPECIAL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
hugs back to you my wonderful friend ,i am so sorry for the loss of families in another sad accident ,wish those families strength and peace ,amen!
it is nice to know you are feeling better now dear friend
it is important to rise again so we can give some meaning to our breathing!
health peace and happiness to you and family!
I'm so glad you could identify with this poem, baili! And you are so right that we must "rise again" as you say, and keep on moving forward and live meaningful lives. All the best to you and your family as well, and stay safe.
DeleteWhat a good poem. Thousand well wishes from Denmark.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Charlotte. I feel them.
DeleteWe3ll done, Jenny - you have captured my thoughts entirely. I feel that, perhaps unknowingly, we choose our friends because each and every one of them has something to offer us and so enrich our lives. For that, we can forgive them any flaws we may later discover - none of us is perfect.
ReplyDeleteExactly! We are all flawed in some way and we also all have our good points!
DeleteI completely endorse the sentiments conveyed by Jenny and Cherie - I was hoping to write something along the same lines, but the experts got in first! These two short poems virtually wrote themselves.
ReplyDeleteThe first is a nod to Cherie's 'fair weather friends':
Naughty, Naughty!
I’d just come home from the hospital
I was not a pretty sight
A friend banged loudly on the door
To enquire, was I alright?
“Is there ANYTHING, ANYTHING AT ALL, I can do?”
She gushed. She really made me wince.
“Could… you… just… clean out my drains?” I asked
- I haven’t seen her since!
In the second I should explain that Naomi and Anna are both friends of mine - and Anna is Naomi's mother.
Messaging Naomi
Hello my dearest redhead
Are you feeling quite alright?
Anna said you’ve hit the bottle -
She gave me quite a fright!
Now, are you “Brightest Carrot Top”
Or “Voluptuous Vermillion Red”?
I really hope you haven’t put
“Pink Mouse” upon your head.
I want to see some evidence,
A photo’s what I need.
So load one up on Facebook -
Go do it, with all speed.
Oh, I love them both! We need humour and that hits the spot :) Thank you for sharing these.
DeleteSo much sorrow right now Jenny. So much to cope with...
ReplyDeleteThinking of you. Take care.
So many families have been affected, and in turn so many friends and neighbours. Thank you for your thoughts. They are much appreciated.
DeleteTears here. You all do complete me!
ReplyDeleteYes, you understand too!
DeleteEver so true about friends and it is a good thing to have a diverse range of friends who you don't always agree with.
ReplyDeleteDefinitely. How would we grow otherwise?
DeleteExcellent!
ReplyDeleteYou are right about twins. Sweetie and Brother-in-Law are identical twins, and no two people could be more different in many ways. (for one thing, if i'd married B-i-L, i'd be a widow and a felon because i'd have killed him)
My heart aches for everyone who has lost someone recently. Hearing about military people always touches me, i know someday that could be us with Little Girl. Prayers for all.
It is a worry to have family in difficult occupations, yet where would we be without those who choose to put themselves on the line? May your Little Girl stay safe, Mimi.
DeleteVery sad. Glad you're feeling more like yourself now. Here's to better days.
ReplyDeleteI'll drink to that, Ivy. (only Root Beer, but still)
DeleteI have a friend who has many other friends, people just like being with her, including me. She is a thoughtful friend, always there for the tough times and up for fun in the good. I often tell her she should teach classes on the art of being a good friend. I think her secret is she is willing to put time and effort in to maintaining her friendships whereas, I confess, I have to remind myself to do the little things which are so important. Nova Scotia and its people are in my thoughts, can't believe what a rough time it has been lately.
ReplyDeleteIt's been a hard two weeks, that's for sure. I hope there is nothing else in store for us, not right away at least. Life is so random and illogical at times. Thank you for your kind thoughts, Susan.
DeleteI believe you've cracked the code of friendship. It does take work, not just when it's easy but even more when it's hard to do.
Friendship, like family, is something we might not think very deeply about and yet where would we be without it? When I get stressed out about things both trivial and not so trivial, I try to remind myself that, really, only love matters.
ReplyDeleteLovely poem, I feel the same way. I hope you had a good birthday. Hugs.
ReplyDeleteA lot of grief in Nova Scotia. Those of us who live in other parts of Canada send all our love and support. What a tough time.
ReplyDeleteI love your poem - it so beautifully expresses friendship as well as the wisdom we gain with experience.
ReplyDeleteMy heart still hurts for Nova Scotia.