Non PD: A Friend

[Giles <mgiles@xxxxxxxxxx>]

I?m uncertain why I?m writing this now.
My friend?s death happened a few year?s ago.




A Friend?

I had a friend a long time ago
we met when I was five.
We rarely saw each other except
in the controlled environment known as
Sunday School.
I did not know much about this individual
except his name but over the years he
came to be the person who cared.
When young muscles failed to keep up
with growing bones and I developed
a limp, he never noticed.
When other?s treated me differently
after I started using a wheelchair,
it didn?t bother him.
I couldn?t go to public school, but he
gave me a glimpse of what it was
like to be a band member.
I was rarely invited anywhere but
he asked me to his house and introduced
me to tortillas covered in cheese.
He acted as though I could do anything
and struck the first spark of independence.
During years troubled by depression, abuse,
and loneliness, he presented an alternative.
When my family moved to Texas from
Arizona we wrote to each other for a time.
But the need to adapt to public school, time,
and a habit of focusing on the here and now
caused us to loose contact.
Recently, my parents made a visit to Arizona
to see family and friends.
When they returned, my mom told me that
Pat had died of cancer.

The world is less bright, and Heaven a lot brighter.



Marvin Giles