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Dulled Appetite

Text of Poem

Your letter today
came after such long absence
I had forgotten I worried
about not hearing from you.
It’s a dull appetite I have
for opening your letter.
Of course I hope you are well,
have a job you deserve,
receive good news from your folks.
I wish you luck when you need it.
But too much time, like water
under the bridge, has flowed past
for me to be aware of you
as once I was, and I opened your letter
in turn among bills and advertisements.
I did not tremble to reach for it
as I did once and fumble
with eagerness to open it,
every word a precious sigh.
I glanced at it with the same
attention I give to a letter
from a business firm I no longer
do business with.

First Line
Your letter today
Original Pub Location
Original Publication Date
1993
Original Citation
A Country Man. Cumberland, IA: Pterodactyl Press. 1993. 50.
Complete Poems
467
Hearst Collections
Word Count
135
Poetic Form
open
Themes
Twitter Quote
It’s a dull appetite I have / for opening your letter.