A FRIEND Poem by Toon Tellegen

I had a friend who was dying,
I watched him die,
I heard him die

I stood there
and with the greatest effort on the part of my empathy,
which had so far proved useless,

I changed places with him

the difference was smaller than I'd expected

he watched me die
he heard me die

he stood there
and said that it was better this way, fairer,
how should he put it,
he still had so much to do, so much of consequence

he thanked me for my empathy
and for the incredible effectiveness
of its timing

it happened one morning in a forest,
he'd gone for a jog there,
I was dying.