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Jan 29, 2023·edited Jan 30, 2023Liked by Mary Poindexter McLaughlin

Many silent moons ago I lost quite a few very dear friends to AIDS--not havin' (of course) any CLUE to Dark Lord Fauxchee's horrific role in THAT plandemic/scamdemic, not knowing that these dear souls who once made me smile and with whom I shared so many good memories--of creative collaboration, of old movies and good books enjoyed together, of music wild and wacky, of dancin' until dawn! of good cooking and even better company!--could've ALL been spared this mystery plague that was...sadly...tragically....as is today...tied in with choices they made.

And so I too didn't pass judgement...on the poppers prolific, on the partners plentiful, on disastrous diets (not ta mention diet-pills dangerous...), and on so much more that I felt was unwise and unsafe--and yet which didn't really affect their daytime ability to work well and enjoy friendships to the fullest. There were some rifts (lies, assumptions...the latter being worse actually...) and then of course there was The End...holding chill-damp hands at hospital bedside, looking at the drips going into parched veins, knowing that even though they, my friends, were "still there"--in fact, they were GONE.

You tell my story too Mary. Thank you! I never really found words for how I felt--but it WAS bearing witness.... so true. And perhaps also... burning witness... as we witness we keep a slow burning pain inside, even knowing the hearts of those fading were searing more. So and thus, I too bore witness .more than once.....and had to take a deep breath and hold the clammy hands---and my tongue. Just bein' there seemed right. I guess it was like this for you too... I can see it so clearly, line by line....

Was this loss recent? A dear friend... I am so sorry. And you knew... and you know.

Thankfully most friends (or former ones) I currently know who have been lost to "covidianism" (some I DO think got saline) are still on this Earth. Mercifully my own jab-damaged Ma has been (thus) spared the worst--as she even now recovers from a post-jab-stroke or "something" they couldn't figger out (doi) as she relearns to walk... a far cry from her up-and-down-the-stairs-runnin'-after-her-dogs former self.... (To this less dire form of sufferin' we also, in a way, bear witness...)

I know that many of us might YET have to bear witness, or do so again, over time...

...given what we KNOW. This piece may be the crystalized lament of these tenuous times. It's a beautiful and true and sad song--I simply hope that it's not one we'll need to sing often as it's not easy to bear for any of us. Nevertheless, keep 'em comin' !

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Jan 29, 2023Liked by Mary Poindexter McLaughlin

Gosh, your poetry just pierces through, doesn’t it? This is simply superb, thank you, Mary.

If you keep your light on, and I keep my light on, and Margaret, and Kathleen, and Tessa, and all the light burners out there do, well, then, the world gets to be pretty bright, doesn’t it? 🤗

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Jan 29, 2023Liked by Mary Poindexter McLaughlin

Hauntingly beautiful, Mary. Bravo!

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Jan 30, 2023Liked by Mary Poindexter McLaughlin

This is the great task before us. Bearing witness bathed in mercy to choices that have consequences. Everyone of a certain ilk needs this poem, this lifeboat, in their metaphorical toolbox, for courage.

You’re a gift, Dear Mary. Thank you.

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Jan 30, 2023Liked by Mary Poindexter McLaughlin

Your poem is beautiful.

I think you captured an important thought and expressed your feelings brilliantly – it was moving to read...it stirred some emotions inside of me that I’ve left unattended for too long.

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Jan 29, 2023Liked by Mary Poindexter McLaughlin

Mary, this poem hurts to read. As Visceral Adventure says, it's piercing, and I felt it go right through.

David Whyte (I think) says: ... "the ultimate touchstone of friendship is not improvement, neither of the other nor of the self, the ultimate touchstone is witness, the privilege of having been seen by someone and the equal privilege of being granted the sight of the essence of another, to have walked with them and to have believed in them, and sometimes just to have accompanied them for however brief a span, on a journey impossible to accomplish alone." xox

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Jan 29, 2023Liked by Mary Poindexter McLaughlin

Beautiful. Thank you. 💜

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Exquisitely poignant, Mary. Chills.

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