This world can be a lonely place, it’s true. And while a poem will not put food in a hungry stomach or clothing on a cold back, it will warm and feed a desolate soul and heart.

Tomorrow is Random Acts of Poetry Day–an invitation to share the joy and consolation of an uplifting poem. And while sharing a poem uplifts the recipient, it might very well uplift the giver, too! And as a result, the giver might just feel compelled out of gratitude and compassion of heart and spirit to perform random acts of material kindness, too.

One of my favorite poems was first recited to me by my husband-to-be during a cold pre-Spring day, as the highlight of a pre-planned picnic, complicated by my having a swollen face and jaw due to the emergency surgical removal of a (seriously infected) impacted wisdom tooth.

First (half-)heard on that day, then, that was no picnic, this comforting favorite poem is one that I often share in reaching out to the grieving. And now, I offer this poem, too, as a random act of poetic kindness to myself, as this poem speaks clearly to me in my newly retired state–as I knowingly, willingly, necessarily leave behind colleagues that–despite my most sincere intentions to the contrary, I will likely never see again–at the least–surely, not in the same way; not on the same daily basis.

If your heart is grieving the loss of someone removed by distance on this side or that of Paradise, I pray these words console you, too:

“When you part from your friend, you grieve not;
For that which you love most in him may be clearer in his absence, as the mountain to the climber is clearer from the plain.”

For the rest of the words of wisdom expressed in this poem On Friendship  from the poet Kahlil Gibran, please click here.

What poem gives you comfort?

Please share it here in comments, or in a Tweet  @bakrawiec  or #RetiredLadyBoomerChat or #BlendedAgingChat

God bless you! Thanks!