too cheery get-well greeting /
disengagement announced /
an engagement in amber /
response to junk mail offer /
last squeeze out of savings for
rent / inheritance tendered
/ signed separation agreement
▮ ▮
enclosed please find the family keepsake I planned to
give you at our yearly weekend together
On the arc of a suburban steet
enclosed please find a check for the class
we had to move online
In a shuttered chapel
▮▮
▮▮
dirty
chalice /
sequestered
walking stick
/ announcement of
upcoming services /
stick crayoned dog /
crumpled heating bill
▮ / withered wreath ▮
enclosed please find what we
wish we had now
This poem was published as part of a series in a special issue, The Great Pause, of Press Pause Press.