(no subject)

[sarah_j_powell]

i have this friend.
though we don't see each other often, he knows me well.
we speak of politics, religion, poetry.
he is most gracious with his knowledge.

sitting in a crowded restaraunt
he'd tell a joke only to hear me laugh-
and to see the reactions around us.
and i am comfortable.
comfortable with myself.
so thank you,
my friend who i don't see often.

i never thought i'd find another book store junkie-
but there we were, two kids in a candy store
grabbing what our minds couldn't resist-
neruda, yeats, elliot, milosz.

reading only a phrase set off
my emotions as they ran wild-
all the way to the cash register.
so thank you,
friend i don't see often.

and now i read, over and over
the poems he speaks so highly of
that trigger within me
inspiration.love.hope.sadness.joy.
such little words with a great power.

what is it about poetry
that can make you feel as if you're falling in love?
yet can dampen your soul as if
you've lost it just as quickly?

poetry is the spoken Song,
God's gift of life.
it's nurishment for the ordinary.
it is inspiration for the soul.