Friendship

What is a friend?
A friend is more than someone to share a cup of coffee
and mull over the events of the world or the town.
Instead, a friend goes deeper, and shares a bit of his soul
and his heart, and his life.
Dreams and goals and successes and failures get discussed,
along with hopes and grief and bruises and joys.

Sometimes the coffee gets cold as we dig deep and share—
finding a point of view we hadn’t thought about, or dared to explore—
and judgments get reserved and criticism isn’t given.

The most important thing we often do is listen and accept
and to be the cheerleader or the solid rock
in a world filled with turmoil and indifference.

And, sometimes we are the mirror, just reflecting back
the idea, the thought, the concern, the question
or simply finding a quiet hour to talk, with no agenda
and knowing there is acceptance and love.

And, always there is friendship
and that can be enough to get us through the day—
knowing someone cared enough to come for coffee
and a lot more.