Lost

What happened to the letter

You wrote to your parents

That breezy letter

like they were a pen-pal

Or a dear friend.

I was in awe of that letter

The tone of it was just right

You told them about me, about Yarmouth,

and Brighton

You hoped they were OK

And you didn’t want anything from them.

I wept when you showed me it

and said you didn’t mind if they didn’t reply.

You said it so convincingly.

What happened to the letter?

That should have been the letter

They’d been waiting for

For 15 years.

Did they even open it?

Did your mother weep, like I did

Why didn’t she reply?

Lost in the mail once, maybe, but you sent it twice

Unless they were dead.

Your dad is 80.

But then, wouldn’t someone have told you?

What happened to the letter?

How can you turn love off?

I wonder about curiosity and

Maternal and paternal instinct.

I wish they could know you

Like I know you.

Like I love you.

If I had their address, I wouldn’t send

a letter

I’d send a bomb.

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