05 Jan «A poem to Friends»
I cannot give you solutions
to all life’s problems,
Nor do I have answers
to your doubts or fears
But I can listen to you
and share it with you
I cannot change
neither your past nor your future.
But when you need me
I’ll be by your side.
I cannot prevent you from stumbling
I can only offer you my hand
to hold on to you so you won’t fall.
Your joys, your victories, your successes
are not mine.
But I truly enjoy it when I see you happy.
I do not judge the decisions you take in life.
I constrain myself to support you,
to stimulate and to help you if you ask me to.
I cannot draw limits for you
within which you must act,
But I can offer you the space
needed to grow.
I cannot avert your sufferings
when some pain is breaking your heart.
But I can cry with you
and pick up the pieces
to armour it again.
I cannot tell you
who you are,
nor who you should be.
I can only love you
as you are and be your friend.
These days, I have been thinking
about my friends,
amongst whom you appeared.
You were neither on top,
nor at the bottom, nor in the middle.
You were not heading
nor concluding the list.
You were not the first number,
nor the last.
And neither do I pretend to be the first,
the second, or the third on your list.
It’s enough if you want me as a friend.
Thank you for being one.
Jorge Luis Borges
