2007-05-16
Gather all my letters in a barrel and take them outside
Today I have seen the mailman struggling to keep letters inside
His clear plastic tote, I have aided a woman whose notebook
Has scattered all over the streets of this city.
Find a day that fits this description, with tornados possible
And birds perched above us crying strangely.
What I most desire is for all of it—my teenage complaints
About the wrath of my stepfather, my high school era love letters
Declaring for a boy my unyielding devotion—
To catch the flurry of air and take flight.
Let my words gather like a funicular then scatter
Above the pillars and mansard rooflines,
Above the carparks and vehicle repair shops
Above the crackheads, the attorneys struggling
To eat a tuna sandwich on this sunny, windy day
Let the mail soar into the sub-atmosphere
and what? Rain down where necessary?
Get torn to pieces that will float into the ocean
Where creatures can feed off my paper products?
Or self-implode for want of their immense silliness?
Let my mail fall where it wants to,
But first let it fly, unaided by the jets and trucks of the USPS,
Simply powered by the forces of the jetstream.