thank you for being a friend...

photo by wm. blake spencer 

she was a co-worker

and remains a friend

and the time came 

for me to tell her

that i was

and am gay. 

she's an insightful person,

i knew she had been waiting, 

she sensed something had been looming. 

"you know i have something to tell you.

don't you."

i remember her saying, 

"yes."  

her "yes" 

was her way of saying:

go ahead

speak your words

everything is going to be fine.

i am your friend

and i will not abandon you. 

and so it was...

i was safe.

and so she was...

a 

friend.  

breaking silence,

admitting denial,

speaking the truth...

well,

a person discovers 

quickly who his 

or her friends really are. 

she is the best kind of friend to have.

and she is the kind of friend 

YOU want when 

everything in your world gets turned upside down.

i told her my story.

she listened. 

i told her my story.

she cried.

i told her my story

and she promised to remain. 

she did more than listen too.

good friends do more than listen. 

she nudged me to do the right thing 

on days when i wanted 

nothing more than to give up 

or explode with emotion. 

one night she sang me a song.

after parking the car she grabbed my arm and said,

listen.  

listen to this song.

and she sang with the c.d.

her voice is beautiful

and she brought alive the words

i needed to hear. 

______

just yesterday i was in the grocery story 

buying a few things

and that song played as i was 

rolling my shopping cart down the 

chip aisle.

all the sudden

the words washed over me again

and i remembered her sweet voice singing.

i stood next to the pretzels 

crying

as other shoppers 

pushed past me on either side.

and i texted her

to say.....

thank you.

thank you for being my friend. 

every

body needs 

a good friend 

especially when 

life gets re-

arranged.

i found out 

who my friends 

really are

when i found the 

courage and the freedom 

to speak 

the truth of my life.