friendship

Offer Strength

Better so to listen…

. better so to listen, gentle of ear,
. it’s their voice, not yours, that will make things clear.

© Tim Grace, 5 October 2012

To the reader: The soft-counselling of a friend provides a safe place for disappointment and sadness to speak its voice. In the resolution of loss or grief there are moments when wise-words are best left unspoken. In these moments, the broken-hearted and the grief-stricken seek nothing more than reassurance. Their healing process begins with the confirmation of a companion that cares enough to listen. In time, the spoken response will be appropriate… save that for later.

To the poet: “Should they be blurred to favour tolerance?” Between writing and interpreting this line of thought, I think I’ve softened the tension between tolerance and suspended judgement. The need for restraint in criticism has been replaced with a more general statement on responsive listening. I’ve not really answered the question: “How much lee-way does intolerance deserve?”

Offer Strength Offer Strength
Picture Source:
http://youtu.be/RvqSkStr94A
Friends - not lovers

Friends – not lovers

Friends, not lovers, protect us from ourselves.
They can hold us steady, disentangle
emotional strings, retrieve he who delves
too deep; ungrip the hand that would strangle
from life all good reason to continue
the good fight (for a good cause warranted).
Such is the good friend, with every sinew,
a good connection, a well-cemented
source of truth; a solid anchor of sorts,
a fixed point of reference, not to be moved
by whim or fancy (such as love contorts);
so admired, esteemed, and much approved.
. Such is the friend who through life endures,
. promises nothing …. simply reassures.

© Tim Grace, 23 June 2012

To the reader: Love, besotted love, is emotionally vulnerable. Through devotion, tender love is unable to detach itself from heartfelt entanglements. The bond of friendship, however, has commitment without the surrender of proximity. Through distance a friend maintains objectivity; sometimes critical in the heat of emotional turmoil. The lover will tend to move towards the fire; the friend one-step back. A lover will sacrifice; a friend will rescue.

To the poet: The continuity of rhythm and meter delivers flow; but, the principles of design apply to poetry … too much of a good thing detracts from character and diminishes interest. The deliberate disturbance of flow is part of a writer’s craft. Displacement is an effective ploy in attracting attention; but overplayed the strategy loses impact – predictability is the pitfall.

 

Friends - not lovers

Friends – not lovers
Picture Source:
http://youtu.be/SuUrG4Y29do