I tell stories about you, my friend.
“I once had a friend who ____”,
or “a friend once said___”,
or “once a friend and I _____”.
Every time I say those two words,
“my friend,”
I ache a little inside.
Because those two words,
“my friend,”
can never capture who you were.
You, my friend,
will always stir my heart
with an ache for beauty and justice
too deep for words.
You, my friend.
will always be deeply grieved,
deeply rejoiced,
and deeply remembered.
You, my friend,
I will sift through
the vastness of your loss
all of my lifelong journey.
You, my friend.
will be the reason I lift my voice
to the heavens and never stop singing
for freedom and love.
You, my friend,
you are in me.
Your laughter drifts through the wind,
and your faith weathers all storms.
You, my friend,
you are part of me.
Your smile lingers on in the stories I tell.
and your heart beats on in the love I live.
You, my friend.
