Thank you to Glory Sasikala of GloMag for publishing this poem today on the 6th Anniversary of GloMag (Huge Congratulations!)

Sidekicks and Fellow Travelers

I’ll stay off the stage with the drama queens,

and turn down all invitations to argument,

but I don’t think I can succeed all alone.

Instead, I’ll share my most productive time

with the builders in league with me.

Close friendships are a powerful institution.

They allow me to express

humbling flows of words without vanity.

The greatest people I have ever known

are those who told me I could do it.

All true friends catch you as you fall,

allow you to exhibit merry outbursts 

while insisting you stay coolly rational.

These are the holy monkeys 

who join me in the tree branches.

Who help me be a heroine,

even if the movie plot isn’t so great that day,

who join me on the mat

to wrestle my demons under control,

even through a third or fourth bout.

Together we breathe out joy,

and we feed all the stars.