Letters To Nowhere
There are no postmarks for lost corners,
you can’t address an envelope
to the shadows between the pavements slabs
where you slipped from reach
days before I noticed you were gone.
When my hand closed around thin air
I could feel a chord pulling down,
yanking through my chest
into some deeper part of me,
where everything lost collects
and vanishes all at once.
The weight of your ghost became a stone
knocking against my ribs
like the second hand on a clock
forever stuck in turning circles
coming back to the starting mark
over and over again
until no one comes to wind it.
I still turn the covers of my bed,
expecting to find you inside some nights.
Pressed between the sheets
as if you’d been there all along
simply waiting for me to come back.
It is almost too easy to dream.
Tomorrow is the first of April and the first day of National Poetry Writing Month! That’s right, thirty days, thirty poems, and a whole host of eccentric people who are readying themselves to get in on the challenge.
Today we have the Early Bird Prompt which is a recycled prompt from previous NaPoWriMos, The challenge is to write a love letter to an inanimate object. Now there are actually a couple of things that inspired this piece. A teddy bear I called ‘Snowy’ that was about the same length as my hand, and a locket I lost during primary school that my great-grandmother had given to me. Both items failed to show up again and their loses were quite significant to younger me.
Let me know what you think of the poem, or if you are a fellow NaPoWriMo participant. In the meantime, thank you for reading and happy writing.
I loved the poem and had no idea it was about a teddy/locket. I think it’s relatable to anyone that’s lost someone or something precious. I’m daring to take part this year for the first time ever and may need to the prompts as inspiration.
I think the prompts are a great start as they can push you to write about topics that you might not always think to choose.
This is wonderful, carol. I love the parallel between the corner of the envelope and folding back the bed cover.”The weight of your ghost becomes a stone.”
As with so much of my poetry, that was a complete accident but hurrah if it sounds good.
Also, wonder if you could help me out. To participate in NaPoWriMo 2018 is there any link to use or do we just publish on our blog and use NaPoWriMo2018 as a tag? I’ve been participating for 4 years and have never figured this out. Call me dense, but I’ve never seen any instructions about how to link up to any page that might list who has posted. Yes, I am signed up for it.
There’s the participants page which lists all participants on the napowrimo site. You can check that out. I tend to follow the tag in the reader as well.
But no page that shows who all has participated day by day..Just wanted to make sure. Thanks.
Your poem is quietly brilliant. I think it speaks volumes to your skill, that while reading it, one could think of a lost childhood companion just as easily as of a more ‘grown-up’ loss.
Thank you so much.