Carry Us Through

I don’t think I’ve ever felt a compassion for a friend the way I feel it today. My women, strong and wise, rarely have the moment of complete defenselessness against the agony of defeat. We stand strong, heads held high, in the posture of success, even amongst the ugliest of circumstances. We walk, sometimes drudgingly, into life after the death of hopes and dreams, but we continue to go on .

 Yet, there comes a time for each of us when our shoulders can carry no more weight, when, with heads bowed low, chin to chest, our hearts must release the aching that we feel, for our levy can no longer hold fast. 

It seems that I have usually been the one in the position of downfall so much of the time. And the strength that I found wasn’t always my own, but that of the souls that shared my sorrow and pain, imparting wisdom and care, all the while cleaning up a mess that they themselves did not make. And finally, having broken through the turmoil and coming to a place of peace and settle, I am free to give myself to the holding up of the ones who need support.

And now the time has come, when it’s no longer my own burdens that need to be carried but the load of the friends who held me up in my time of need. Their backs have been bent, their power no longer what it was before, and life has taken them down a path covered with stones and thorns. The heartache that once poured from these eyes is now theirs, and I find that it is my chance to lift them up, into the brightness of a better day, as they had done for me, before.

So my friends, my loves, know that you are not alone. See our ties and feel our friendship and realize that you, too, shall come through and be as free as you have helped me to be. Fate does not leave you abandoned in the dark that surrounds, but brings you to a time of rest. When you cannot smile, we shall smile for you. When you cannot breath, we shall give you air. And when you cannot go any further because of your pain, we shall carry you through.