Friends: A Sequel

A book of poetry dedicated to friendship. Childhood is a time of beginnings: being many beginnings, with various people, in particular those of a similar age, in a place that was our own, unaware at the start of its hold on us; that we would never completely outgrow, even if its shaping of us was temporary, because the mark it left on us was indelible, for it was here that we first learned of friendship, with its enduring effect on us, preserved in memory to include the rudiments and particularities of our town, that we would never completely outgrow, with treasured moments and friendships permanently stored in our subconscious, being our growing consciousness that was shaping us then. And no matter how early or late our departure from that singular place, with the time it takes for its truth to put its hold on us, to realize, perhaps very late, that our special time was and would ever remain a touchstone for us. It is the artist that recaptures what can easily be lost; what others might forget, outgrow, reject, or sadly, no longer remember—that is, of that special time that was once completely ours to hold. But the artist remembers—all of it, because all of it collectively makes for one life, there inside that place within us enshrined, that can holds fast in permanence those enduring moments when we touched our truth, to be slowly deciphered in our life long struggle to realize ourself; to know our fate and our destiny, that began in childhood with special friends in a special place, seen now again for us to re-enter it in memory, to extract its truth for the immortal life of our Being.