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Writer's pictureDaniel Jepsen

"Wasn't Your Friendship always as Beautiful as a Flame?


I came across this poem today, and it brought (good) tears to my eyes. Though Mary Oliver wrote it about the death of a friend, I share it for all of us who have lost sons and daughters, mothers and fathers.


Where has this cold come from? “It comes from the death of your friend.”

Will I always, from now on, be this cold? “No, it will diminish. But always

it will be with you.”

What is the reason for it? “Wasn’t your friendship always as beautiful

as a flame?”


~ Mary Oliver. For Tom Shaw S.S.J.E. (1945– 2014)

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Allen Abbott
Allen Abbott
22. 8. 2023

Mary Oliver's life was a gift to all of us. What a wonderful poet. One of my favorites.

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