Heaviness *sigh*

Blood running slow and thick through my veins.

Sitting on the floor next to my bed in this quiet room, time moving with no purpose.

Your absence all but sealed.

*

Are we the cliché or the exception?

Feminist tirades, thirsty Thursdays with flutes of bubbly, compassionate introspection and support, and shared poetry…

Mutual inspiration feeding the ink in our pens that transcribes our souls onto paper.

Knowing deep within that we are each other’s person without needing to announce it.

*

Who says you can’t write a sonnet about your best friend?

I never did follow the rules…bending expectation ever so slightly to fall under the radar but still make my rebellious call…always being underestimated…others never truly knowing what goes on beneath my surface.

Yet being understood at the deepest level of my being by one other…

That is a gift that most do not find.

*

Distance may change things between us.

Maybe it will force me to allow the right man into my life…to break down that wall, open that chasm, and receive the partner destined for me without pretense or pushback or sabotage.

Maybe I need to lose my safety net so I can feel the dark emptiness beneath my feet, giving way to an eternity of uncertainty…forcing my bravery.

My next chapter requires me to let down my guard…to truly be free…no chains, no baggage, no fear.

*

My dearest friend…

We are both terrifying…intimidating others with the power of our vibration and the certainty of our substance.

We are both strange…unafraid of showing our eccentricities, rather embracing what we have in common and respecting what separates us: Your I and my E.

We are both beautiful…because we live honestly, authentically…never shying away from the hard stuff.

*

When either of us fall, there is always a soft landing…

Friendship is the savior of humanity…

Love in its purest form…when all expectation melts away

Leaving stark naked vulnerability and truth as its founding principle.

You always saw me past the veil; I always listened to your words with non-judgment…alas, we know when we’ve been found.

*

As you go off to your next adventure,

Take our memories with you as you journey through the muck of new beginnings.

Treating it like your next mountain climb,

Treading through rock and timber until you truly hit your peak,

And, my friend, that peak is coming.

You haven’t fully blossomed yet.

You are just beginning to realize your own beauty,

Your strength,

Your Earth-shattering power.

*

You got this, as I’ve got you…through breaths of meditation, strokes of the pen, and sinewy muscles of courage as you venture off into the unknown.

And you’ve got me, that crazy telepathy of intuition and knowing.

I write this, procrastinating the end of this poem,

Because I don’t know how to end something that represents infinity.

It isn’t an end; it is a pause…a chance to calibrate the true meaning of friendship and love.

I will not take you for granted,

And I will be forever grateful that you walked into my gym and sought me out.

You are a beacon of strength in this messed up world,

A light people seek out to warm their tired bodies.

Thank you for your friendship.

You humble me with the honor.

I love you.