If You Want a True Friend

Just open your hands and say, “I don’t know.”

Say it softly and wait, so your other can see

that you mean it. Give them a chance to

drop what they think is secret. Let them

come up with a cup of what matters from

the spring they show no one. Let them sigh

and admit that they don’t know either. Then

you can begin with nothing in the way. Go

on. Admit to the throb you carry in your

heart. And let the journey begin.

A Question to Walk With: Tell the story of a true friend you have and how you met.

This month, Sounds True published a major collection of my poetry, The Way Under the Way, which contains three separate books of poetry, gathering 217 poems retrieved and shaped over the past twenty years. These poems span my life’s journey and they center on the place of true meeting that is always near, where we chance to discover our shared humanity and common thread of Spirit. The above poem is from the book.

*photo credit: Matthias Zomer