Friendship is colour. It lightens the darkness that can creep in when solitaire becomes isolation. When the great adventure loses a tinge of the excitement and the fingers of loneliness caress the mind. These long fingers pry away the warmth of an embrace and the joy of touch. Across the distance a thought is sent. A loving word that is breathed on the wind and awakened I hear a sound carried on the night breeze. I touch the air and a kiss is planted on my soul.

There are many colours of friendship. A splash of vibrant colour as a new friend passes though. A random or even timely brush mark on the canvas that is me. Other colours change hue over time. A rich shade that has deepened as the layers are applied. The oil of tears and laughter brings out the variety of brush strokes while the essence of light still glows through the thickening layers. I grow as I experience the colour that each friend brings into my life. Across the distance I still grow. The time of absence makes me more aware and deepens my gratitude for the beauty that they, my friends bring. Without them I am not me. Without their input I do not grow. Without the love and life they have brought me I as I do not exist. My friends are a part of me now. Seasons do change. Where there was spring there may come winter. Where the buds of blossom once bloomed there may be a time of bare branch silhouetted against a grey sky. However I will not let them go. We hold each other in the deepest places of our hearts. Memory holds the colour. I am forever stained.