Friendship

     Friendship is one of the rare, beautiful gifts of life. I am fortunate to have you as a friend. Although I know the richness that your friendship gives to me, I can only guess what richness my friendship may give to you. But if I could, I know what I would give you to make your life as beautiful as mine.
     I would give you the excitement of each sunrise--the birth of each new day.
     I would give you the seasons in all their splendor. I would give you the May perfume of a high desert morning as the sun dries the dew from sagebrush, bitterbrush, and juniper. I would give you the July scent of pondersoa pine, the August fragrance of warm, ripe blackberries, and the October aroma of a thicket of mountain-mahogany. I would give you the sharp, clean odor of spruce in the cold, thin air of a high mountain Wnter.
     I would give you the colors of flowers and the songs of birds. I would give you the symphony of canyon winds, the orchestration of thunderstorms, the eternal tempo of the sea.
     I would give you the coolness of clear mountain streams, the tenderness on new grass. I would give you the freshness of summer rains, the silence of winter snows. I would give you the wonder of rainbows and of northern lights, and I would give you the majesty of snow-clad mountains. I would give you the sun, the moon, the stars, the wind, the rain, the, snow. I would give you the fertility of the earth, the wisdom of eons entombed in rocks.
     And I would give you the peace of each sunset--the reflective beauty of the land at day's end.
     But I cannot give you these things. They are not mine to give. So, I offer you my hand. Take it. Then, in small measure, can I share with you the richness that you have shared with me--friendship.

In memory of Kenneth L. Gordon
© chris maser 2004. All rights reserved.

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