Friendship

for Nastya

I walk along
looking for the perfect stone.
Adding it carefully to the others I have collected.
Each stone builds upon the foundation.
Honesty and respect.
Effort and patience.
Caring and forgiveness.

Finding the perfect stones.
Each edge meeting perfectly with the next
strengthening the bond.
I scrape away the crumbling pieces from the mistakes we have made.
Patching the cracks in the stones with forgiveness.

When I was younger I built my friendships with sticks and grass
Too impatient to find stones to build upon.
Those friendships have long been gone
withered away in the seasons.

I have learned from my mistakes
and gather my stones
to build a mansion
a refuge for decades to come
a friendship that will last through the ages.

© Michele Markley 2008