Envelope Savers
by Paulette Demers Turco
     –inspired by Emily Dickinson’s Envelope poems
The dawn the hummingbird alit–
alone within the bower–
wings abuzz–invisible–
seconds stunned an hour.
             •
A pencil–sharpened with a knife
and shorter than a pin–
mailed inside a folded note–
inspired her ode–chagrin.
             •
An envelope that he used once,
tore open and discarded–
failed a purpose it can serve–
similes–safeguarded.
             •
Emily predates emojis–
her periods became–
just dots–her spaces vanished–back
and forward slashes came \\ //
             •
The written word is tapped and spun
for tablets, texts, and mail–
sentences no longer harbored–
soon dashes won’t prevail.


The above poem previously appeared in Ibbetson Street # 51, Summer, 2022


 


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