reading a hand written letter from a friend

I’m celebrating National Poetry Month by writing and reading poetry, every day.

For writing inspiration, I decided to write from a list I made last month of 30 things that make me happy. One each day of the month.

Today, day nine: reading a hand written letter from a friend

My poem today is a mirror poem, inspired by Barb Edler‘s prompt provided on yesterday’s Ethical ELA site. This amazing site provides daily prompts and offers opportunities to meet up with other’s celebrating poetry this month.

The minute I read what Barb shared, I knew it was a perfect fit for my poem today. You can find Jamila Woods’ audio recording and poem here that was mirrored on Nazim Hikmet’s poem Things I didn’t know I loved.

after Jamila Woods after Nazim Hikmet

it’s postmarked December 18 2020, the last day of school
i sit in the living room the sun streaming in
even though it is winter,
i open the letter
handwritten on thick paper

i never knew i liked stationery

i remember reading old letters my mother
wrote home when she was in Europe marked
airmail

i used to hate the flimsiness of the paper
and the tininess of her cursive
that was difficult to decipher

now i’m grateful for the physical record
of time long ago
tied up in a box
holding other memories

i used to hate the slowness of the mail
it lacked immediate payback
now i cherish the thrill of finding
a letter addressed to me in my mailbox

i never realized how voices are
amplified when i touch the paper
the ink

i never knew how much i loved
to read a letter
written on beautiful stationery
scrawled in black

day 9, national poetry month 2021