space
At dawn, I took my friend on her 4th nature walk… ever.
“Nature scares me. I don’t know why.”
Beyond parched hills and a pier, grey sky melted into grey bay. In a eucalyptus grove, we sat to write List Poems. I filled six pages; she started one.
“I got overwhelmed by all the switches on the ground… Mom made me cut my own.”
I winced. “What else could we call them? Walking sticks? Doggy chews? Lincoln Logs?”
She sighed. “I remember Lincoln Logs.”
I snapped a branch into twigs, forming letters on the picnic table:
Y-O-U
A-R-E
S-A-F-E
N-O-W
I love this story, the photo, and the great bravery of friend D! KB
Beautiful and powerful and loving, it all shines through. I am amazed at how what can be so normal for one can be so terrifying for another, and that a friend can hear and see it and offer such a comforting message at just the right moment.