From buddy  Sun Oct 20 19:30:10 1996
Date: Sun, 20 Oct 1996 19:30:03 
Subject: A friend 



It is a person with whom you dare to be yourself
Your soul can be naked with her
She seems to ask of you to put on nothing, only to be what you are
She does not want you to be better or worse
When you are with her, you feel as a prisoner feels
Who has just been declared innocent
You do not have to be on guard
You can say what youthink, so long as it is genuinely you
She understands those contradictions in your nature
That lead others to misjudge you
With her you breathe freely,
You can avow your little vanities and envies and vicious sparks
Your meanness and absurdities and,
In opening them up to her, they are lost,
Dissolved on the white ocean of her loyalty
She understands, you do not have to be careful
You can abuse her, neglect her, tolerate her
Best of all you can keep still with her
It makes no matter
She likes you-she is like a fire that purges to the bone
She understands, she understands
You can weep with her, sin with her, laugh with her
Pray with her
Through it all-and underneath-she sees, knows, and loves you
A Friend? What is a Friend?
Just one, I repeat, with whom you dare to be yourself