March 27th, 2014

Tonight David came over and we sat by the fire and talked
about hard things as the wood burned down to nothing. The
ash was soft between my fingers as I rubbed it on my swollen
ankle imagining some magical healing property to it, and David,
he continued to talk and wrestle and think as if he were not sitting
next to a person rubbing ashes on a bruise. He said very honest
things and I was astonished by his courage. Later I fell asleep
hoping that the hours between going to sleep and waking would
feel like more than they were. Before this though, I touched his
arm and prayed for his safety in all things and his continued healing
and he knew more of what I meant than I did. That's the nature of
prayer and friendship, and also, that's the nature of burning phone
books when the house is out of heat and you gather close
to the fire and each other to receive what warmth there is.