Tuesday, November 1, 2016

Letter to a Friend, Unsent by Rebecca Lindenberg




I haven't written        in a while
because I don't want to talk
                          about anything
I've been unable to stop
thinking about: the knotted thread
             of bad capillaries on my retinae,
money, or that my morning was ruined
by the unusual tightness
              of jeans around my thighs,
                                         like the obligations
of having a body
so ill-fitting, oppressively snug
             around an obstinate will.
And while       I don't want
             to be distracted
from this Duchamp thing
I've been working on—     I am
itched out of reverie
                        over and over again
              by this feeling I don't deserve
my raptures anymore.
So I'm sorry. I don't want to
             bring you down. It's unfair
to have to hear about needles
and envelopes and flies
                  when you might just have been
enjoying an iced tea outside
             and when I would prefer to tell you,
                          really,
there's a family of pheasant living
              in the massive cottonwood
we call the Tree of Life.
The male's red, green, gold plumage
                          makes him look
            like a Christmas present
I would want to give you.
So except “I hope you're well,”
                                                   that's all.