No, not that sappy TV show. Sorry to any fans of the long running sitcom but I was never a fan of it. What I'm thinking about this morning are the genuine article. Over the past couple of weeks, I've had to rely on my own group of friends as I tried to deal with the pain and confusion of an unstable relationship. I've been thinking about how when we first become involved with someone on an intimate level, we tend (of course, this is not an inclusive idea) to pull away from our friends. I believe we (or I) do it as a defensive measure. In the beginning of a relationship it would be too much pressure to have your friends sizing up your potential mate before you've had a chance to do that for yourself. However, if the budding relationship should crumble, I have to say you really understand the importance of your friends and who they truely are as you try to cope with the volatile situation. Anyway, the following prose poem, though the title and content may lead readers to think it is about one thing, it is more importantly about one's friends.
stoned poem
Once we had
had what was waiting behind us. We were like peace babies, stoned all the time. Lisa leaned forward and made lipstick before the smoke, as if there were gaps as they never occurred in life. At least to me, a measly of the stuff and then space. Yeah. We drove because it seemed longer, and I knew I might. I remember looking down as we sauntered oddly a block, then pulled the lipstick case. A hand gesture as if what would be a more interesting world. We were leaving, and returned felt, and had hoped it had been longer. Still, it was. Yeah. Smiles and laughs taking the place of the who we would be. My sight failed before me and she, as if everything had turned in two. Hands against the wall to relieve some, alone, and almost as suddenly the whole nothing. I heard nothing. I became nothing. I laid their faces down and faded as dots clouded, appearing happily stoned. Looking up, a head haloed by the streetlight, and a voice with the feeling that it cared. Giggles, just so. The others were avidly against the wall, sitting next to me, and everyone laughed, thinking. The wall, the ground, the air, up just this much. Yeah. To feel better I looked at my watch. Jim said it was Lisa's. She unwrapped something and said, "What this boy needs is some sugar." So I had
and I really began.
~Michael Staples
