Wednesday, April 27, 2016

Goodbye My Friend


     My friend Lisa Kim Bach died this past week. It’s been almost too much to even speak aloud. 
     We went to college together, edited the Daily Collegian together, read poetry and debated authors, argued copy editing and newspapering rights and wrongs. She stood by my side when I married Dean Yerem. 
     LKB and I took a Belles Lettres class that last year of college, and though we’ve spent years physically apart the sharing of prose and poetry continued. I’ve been reading quotes and sections we passed back and forth. I’ve dug out old books, just to feel her presence. I can hear her infectious laugh and I can see the twinkle of mischief in her eyes. She was quiet, but she could be the best kind of trouble. 
     I wanted to post a poem as a tribute, but nothing seemed good enough, right enough… And then yesterday in Barnes and Noble, my youngest son, Neil, surprised me by picking up a book of poetry and reading a poem out loud to me. It was a poem about basketball so I won't be posting it here (though I'm sure LKB would have loved it.)
     Maybe it doesn’t matter what poem I share in honor of Lisa. Maybe it just matters that I remember how Lisa loved the written word – a poem, a book, a story to tell – and she shared it with those around her. I am just so very thankful and honored to consider her a friend. 

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