top of page
Writer's picturemarychristinedelea

Friendship by Lucien Stryk

Updated: 4 days ago

Friendship

by Lucien Stryk

(published in Selected Poems, 1976, The Swallow Press)


He writes again. Since his divorce

a fist has never left his chest.


He needs my words, and so I fill

a sheet--what joy it gives


to utter words to eyes that plead

from paper. I place the softest


on his cheek, his brow, a special one

upon his mouth. Sigh across


the page that he still has a friend.

Now off to do its loving work,


my scroll of bandages and kisses,

my dried and flattened heart.


Lucien Stryk was a translator and a poet, a professor at universities in the United States and Japan, and a WWII vet.


I love this poem for its simplicity and its sweetness, both being things that can go horribly wrong in lesser writers. Words become kisses, a sigh symbolizes friendship, and the letter to a friend is healing and uplifting, although it demands quite a bit from the speaker.


Our society puts so much emphasis on romantic/sexual relationships, we sometimes forget how necessary our friendships are. This poem is a tender reminder that friendships are as important, and the caring words we send to friends can be quite powerful.

3 views0 comments

Recent Posts

See All

Comments

Rated 0 out of 5 stars.
No ratings yet

Add a rating
bottom of page