In a perverse sort of serendipity
our friendship shaped itself
around our one common bond
when not even our closest allies
wanted to acknowledge
the elephant in the room.

When everyone else
in our little worlds
went on about their business again
you and I granted each other
the right to our indulgences,
a place to put the pain for a time.

Even in our mutual weakness
we mustered the strength
to pull each other
out of the murky depths
to that little pocket of oxygen
which would save us from drowning
at least for this one day.

We understood every nuance
of each others' private torture,
having walked  too many miles
in those same shoes.
No emotion was too intense
no thought too bizarre to be voiced.

And then our friendship
seemed to wane by degrees,
as if it had served its purpose
as if we never had much in common
except that one awful truth
informing our lives for a while.

I see us drifting apart, my friend
now as our grief has softened
and we've begun to open our doors
to the world outside that all-consuming pain
which once brought us together
but can no longer be enough.

Eileen Auger
9/27/09