I pushed aside a plastic box
of plastic-backed thumbtacks,
a half-roll of Scotch tape,
and a paperclipped stack
of edited verse to write
a letter to you.
It went something like this:
Dear Audrey,
No, that's too informal.
Just her first name would imply
our friendship didn't mean anything.
What about
Dear Mrs. Barber?
Way too formal. Like, am I going
to follow it with "can Billy come out
to play," or "I'm sorry I threw snowballs
at the side of your house," or "I apologize
for skipping your class to pop Tums
in the nurse's office."
Maybe
Dear Audrey Barber.
Something about the sounds
doesn't feel right. The Ds and Bs
hit the eardrum weird, like marsh-
mallows or caramel toffee.
They're just too thick.
Dear Audrey Sofield Barber,
There we go.
It's been a pleasure knowing you this past year
or so. In a way, I regret being there for the box-
moving and the computer troubleshooting,
but not for the sidewalk shoveling or book editing.
Or driving you to Elmira Corning Airport to pick
up your daughter. I'm an English writing tutor here—.
Never mind. How's your book doing? I'm sure it's a hit.
Enjoy Hawaii.
Sincerely,
C. S. Cizek (Christopher)
P. S. I plan to purchase "Wellsboro Roots" over the summer
and relive our conversations in Wellsboro over coffee
and cheap sugar.
Thank you for the honor.
Feb 2, 2015
Feb 2, 2015 at 12:26 AM UTC
I pushed aside a plastic box
of plastic-backed thumbtacks,
a half-roll of Scotch tape,
and a paperclipped stack
of edited verse to write
a letter to you.
It went something like this:
Dear Audrey,
No, that's too informal.
Just her first name would imply
our friendship didn't mean anything.
What about
Dear Mrs. Barber?
Way too formal. Like, am I going
to follow it with "can Billy come out
to play," or "I'm sorry I threw snowballs
at the side of your house," or "I apologize
for skipping your class to pop Tums
in the nurse's office."
Maybe
Dear Audrey Barber.
Something about the sounds
doesn't feel right. The Ds and Bs
hit the eardrum weird, like marsh-
mallows or caramel toffee.
They're just too thick.
Dear Audrey Sofield Barber,
There we go.
It's been a pleasure knowing you this past year
or so. In a way, I regret being there for the box-
moving and the computer troubleshooting,
but not for the sidewalk shoveling or book editing.
Or driving you to Elmira Corning Airport to pick
up your daughter. I'm an English writing tutor here—.
Never mind. How's your book doing? I'm sure it's a hit.
Enjoy Hawaii.
Sincerely,
C. S. Cizek (Christopher)
P. S. I plan to purchase "Wellsboro Roots" over the summer
and relive our conversations in Wellsboro over coffee
and cheap sugar.
Thank you for the honor.
Request permission to use this poem