A Love Letter to A Friend

An ode to Jean my cherished friend.

My Dear Beloved Jean,

Beautiful, radiant spirit, so funny and good-natured,
So humble and kind. Such a loving generous spirit,
Not always seen and often misunderstood by the outside world.
A treasure I cherished. God how I miss you.

Please don’t make me say goodbye.

Let’s have one more cup of coffee.
One more cup Jean sitting at your kitchen table.
Another game of Chicken Foot I beg,
Let’s talk about history, books, movies, and world affairs.

And let’s laugh Jean, late into the night like so many times before.

Such joy in laughter you gave.
You showed me how to look at my flaws.
And how pardon is easier to find through laughter,
If you just shake your head and laugh.

One more cup of coffee Jean.
Let’s play another game of Spades,
And laugh until we are crying and sick.
A thousand more laughs to share.

You were a light to my world,
As you shared your gift of home.
I miss your smile and your crankiness.
And the way you laughed even when frustrated.

Let’s have one more cup of coffee.
One more cup Jean sitting at your kitchen table.
Another game of Chicken Foot I beg,
Let’s debate the existential questions and swap philosophies.

How do I say one last goodbye?

You were always so hard on yourself,
Listing your faults like a grocery list.
While viewing the rest of us with grace and kindness.
One more cup of coffee Jean, no, a thousand more.

Oh, how you loved your family, so large and extensive.
Rene the heart of your world.
So hardworking and dependable in any endeavor.

Breakfast was your favorite meal at any hour of the day.
Remember how we made ourselves sick on that sausage gravy concoction?
We both had to take a nap it totally flatlined our day.

I could not take you to the theater to see a movie.
You’d fall asleep every time and always missed the ending.
Which meant I retold you the story,
And later we rented it once released on DVD.

Your gift of laughter blessed all who knew you.
Always quick with an understanding ear, even if you disagreed.
One last cup of coffee Jean, we’ll play a game of Chicken Foot.
Matching dominoes, nine dots, eight dots and so it goes.

Chicken Foot! One last cup of coffee…

Chicken Foot! One last cup of coffee, Jean. I miss your laughter. My heart hurts without you, my friend.
Me & Jean Taken June 2011 in the back lot of the Greenville Police Dept by the employee break area the day before I moved to Florida. Love you, miss you always… RIP October 2, 2019.