Joanna Ashwell
The Blues Of The Postbox
I stand here alone
an opened flap of hunger
waiting to be fed
in my pillarbox red.
Day after day
the march of feet
pass me by -
footsteps that arrive
then rudely depart
click and slamming back
out there into the unknown.
Some sidle up
checking their shoulder
with the scribbled re-direct
of that unpaid bill
or of unrequited love.
Others are more hopeful
with a crisp C.V.
in a too small envelope
creased gently into my folds.
Then there’s the hard man
with a quick jam
catching my lip
to bloody my gums
an invisible crimson bleed
that seeps for days -
until I’m soothed
back to tenderness
by the trembling hand
of the aged
popping in a belated card
for the friend
who passed on last week -
leaving that last unread message
festering in the grain.
My favourite of all
is the first flush of love
as she blushes my colour
blends with my casing
we could almost be one.
Her tender words I devour
with a sleight of hand
catching my breath from within
as I blow back the envelope
and she’s forced to re-post.
Page(s) 161
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