The poem 'A Friend's Prayer'

Open your book, Poorvi, at page 53 and read the poem 'A Friend's Prayer' by Jill Wolf. Read it aloud, or with a friend. It has three short stanzas: a poem's stanzas are like a story's paragraphs.

Many people we call friends; only a few are true friends, who keep our secrets and come when we need them most. The poem is about being that kind of friend.

In the first stanza the speaker prays that her friendships will always be the most important thing to her. She feels blessed, that is, thankful, to have special friends, and so she wants to give them her very best.

In the second stanza she says she wants to do much more than just share the hopes and plans of her friends. She will try everything a friend can do to make their wishes come true, and her friends will feel happy when they do.

In the last stanza she asks to use her heart to see and to understand what friends can be. She does not want to judge her friends from far away; she wants to love her friends just as they are. Feelings matter to her, and she makes no judgements.

Why is the poem a prayer? Like the sentence 'May my friend get well soon', it begins with the word 'May', and the whole poem asks, from the heart, that the speaker may be a true, loving friend.