An Unsigned Letter in Your Letterbox

The Letter, Painting by Elizabeth Crabtree

I know you.

You like to keep to yourself.

You like silence.

You read every day.

When you come across

a word you don’t know

you look it up.

You often linger at the window.

You make out the shapes of clouds.

You like it when the wind combs the trees.

You like it when it’s raining.

You don’t mind the cold

because you’re used to

not being always warm.

You are easy to find

in bookstores and teashops

in parks and grocery stores.

You buy fruits and vegetables.

You don’t torment animals.

You donate when you can.

You don’t worry all that much about money

because there are more important things to worry about.

You like to walk a lot

and sometimes you travel

but you don’t get to travel

as much as you’d want.

You like taking photos

but not of yourself.

You are wary of strangers

but you think that people are not so bad.

You know me too

each time I pass by you

you understand

that we’re in this together.

We used to crawl once,

we used to swim in the sea

we used to fly

and climb in the trees.

Now we walk on two feet

this way and that

and sometimes we pretend it’s important.

You know me too –

you know I’m like you.

But you never say a word

because silence is wiser than words.

Now take this letter

and forget it in a mothy drawer

if you can.

Sketch of a Boy

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Look what a friend of mine sent me recently. She lives oceans away, but writing has that power to connect people. Thank you Kanika!

A Few Notes Concerning Friendship

maslows-hierarchy-of-needs

Friendship is, on Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs, the first item under the Love and Belonging category, just above the fundamental physiological and safety needs, and just below self-esteem and self-realization. Whether or not Maslow got it right is up for debate, but one thing’s clear – life without friends is a lonely vagabondage, which makes even the most solitary and self-sufficient of us feel that something is missing.

A friend can tell you things you don’t want to tell yourself.” – Frances Ward Weller

Continue reading “A Few Notes Concerning Friendship”