friendship

just over a year ago now

i met you

- you who should have been broken and jaded

but you were a ray of sunlight

shining even through your own tears

how i remember the sleepless nights

spent shaking and crying

on the computer, through the phone

over a thousand miles we held each other

in quiet desperation, in pain

you'd say two hearts hurting together hurts less

oh, how i recall the relief

and nervous laughter

our release when dawn came

and we were still breathing

you were the involuntarily worn armor

- the comfort zone/a protection

from the

cuts/scratches/burns/bruises

if i had a penny for all the times you reminded me that we are stronger than we know

i'd buy the self-love it takes to not need such reassurance

you would say, "we do not have to believe that things will get better, only that they can"

and those words became a mantra

prayer for salvation

and your strength and courage

became my faith

that those words were more than just

false hopes

for the weak.