There is spirit in her laugh.

It’s the kind of thing that captures a memory.

And we’ve had decades of them.

Yet I’ll never grow tired of her remembering them

or waiting for the next ones to begin.

She is someone I’ve always longed to be close to and

Someone I had many firsts with – the kind that write your story.

It’s the kind of thing that conjures a feeling you never forget.

She was magical and brave and full of sparkle even when she thought she was wrong

or strange

or just too different.

She never tried too hard,

letting her springs of curls do as they pleased.

As childhood turned to adolescence to adulthood, there were times when we had to grow apart to come back together.

One of the best days of my life was the day we became whole with one another again.

Nervous, I was to see if we still fit.

That first hug brought so much rushing back.

It’s the kind of thing that will make you weep whenever you glance back.

The world has been harsh; the playout often cruel.

No one gets through life

without the scrapes and scars.

But if you have real love by your side in the form of someone like her,

It’s the kind of thing that gets you through.

I’ll never be unloved or alone with her in my tribe.

Celebrating her is a joy of my life.

With her heart connected to mine,

It’s the kind of thing that makes the big, dark sky of the unknown less scary.

This, my friend, my sister, my love is a true story about two girls who never quite felt right where they started and learned that was so very okay.

Beautifully, they found brighter paths and never lost each other.

It’s the kind of thing that emboldens us with audacious hope.

A poem today in celebration of my very wonderful and true friend, Kelda, on her birthday. To write poetry is to live among the beauty of words.