Amicus optima vitae possessio – A Poem

I went to see a wise woman.

She looked at my palms

and read my cards.

She burned incense

and chanted, and asked

if she could read my aura.

I was anxious during all this,

the question I uttered

still burning my tongue.

Then the wise woman was still.

She looked at me and smiled,

one that reached her eyes

and filled me with a calmness

that I had never experienced.

“Well?” I asked her. I tried

to keep the impatience

out of my voice.

“What did the gods say?

Will I find love?”

She regarded me for a moment,

that smile still playing upon

her lips and dancing in her eyes.

Her smile deepened

and she nodded sagely.

“Amicus optima vitae possessio.”

Her voice made the words

sound like music. I didn’t understand.

“What does that mean?

Will I find love?”

She nodded again and uttered

the same words:

“Amicus optima vitae possessio.”

I left her feeling distraught

and unsure of myself.

I was ready for love,

open to the possibility of it,

but the wise woman’s words

meant nothing to me.

I found myself in front

of a bookstore filled with

old books. I went inside

and instantly found myself

calmed by the smell of

old parchment and ink.

There was a man behind the counter.

I asked him what the words meant,

what language they were in.

“Amicus optima vitae possessio…”

He mused. He went to a bookshelf

and pulled down a large volume

of Latin verse and terminology.

Flipping through pages

that sounded like the wind.

“It means ‘A friend is

the greatest treasure of life.'”

I stood there for a moment,

processing what he’d told me.

“That doesn’t make sense.

I asked the wise woman

whether or not

I would find love.”

The man thought about

this for a moment. Then

he regarded me with eyes

that sparkled like the wise woman’s.

“Well, do your friends love you?”

I didn’t need to think of the answer.

“Yes. They’re like my family of the heart.”

He regarded me with something

like understanding.

“Then you are very fortunate.

If you are loved, by so many,

why do you seek more?”

I wondered at his question and

how exactly to answer it.

“Because I have so much love to give.”

He smiled at me and it was like

the sun was shining on him.

“Then give it to your friends,

your family. You won’t find love

if you are looking for it.”

He touched my chest where my heart rested.

“Love finds you.”

I thanked him and left the store,

my body lighter than it had been

when I entered.

“Amicus optima vitae possessio”

I whispered  and felt very rich

indeed.

 

* Dedicated to all of my friends who are my family of the heart.  You know who you are. 🙂