Healing Gifts from Friends: Wendy
With Two 1990s Poems by Me
Often, people don’t know what to do or say to offer comfort in the face of personal tragedy.
For me, the experience has been the opposite. Hundreds of my friends, loved ones, and readers have given the gift of their compassionate support in more beautiful permutations than I can count, all of which have aided me on my journey through grief and loss.
I failed to capture most of these kindnesses during the initial weeks as I was gripped in the talons of shattering shock, but I eventually began stowing fragments away for sharing with you in the hopes that these may offer you solace in your own moments of despair and devastation.
As Maurice laments in one of Michael’s and my favorite films, Mike Leigh’s Secrets & Lies:
“We’re all in pain. Why can’t we share our pain?”
This first entry in Healing Gifts from Friends comes from one of my longest real-life friends, Wendy, who graciously granted me permission to share her words with you.
It begins with a 1995 poem by … me. Wendy came across a copy of my college literary magazine and sent me a scan of one of my poems in that issue along with the following note:
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