collecting stamps

i have rosa parks on one eye
and an apple in the other

and that’s not even counting how many
flags it took to paste my mouth shut,
a whole row of forever sealed with love

to keep me quiet because letters
are filled with absence and whispers
and the check is always in the mail

but even grand central station
can’t keep up with a butterfly
that hovers just this side of blue

and your two cents
well, it will cost a whole lot more
to be heard nowadays

in this world of press on policies
and plastic outrage refusing to fit into
one ounce or seven at quarter past eleven

and the gavel of discretion
bangs down hard on my temple,
this ruin of time so fragile

but not at all hazardous
or containing anything liquid
restricted or red tape perishable

just a kaleidoscope of flowers
for corner decoration and
one way philatelistic passage

when all you have to do
is write

.

.

.

Linking up today with the fabulous dVerse poets for Open Link Night

37 Responses to “collecting stamps”

  • brian miller Says:

    oh dang…yeah its much more than 2 cents these days…smiles. press on policies and plastic outrage…nice…rosa parks and the apple up front immediately caught me as well….very nice…

  • Kathryn Dyche Dechairo Says:

    Love this . . . your words have a way of leaping off the screen and making us all truly feel them.

  • Marcie Says:

    Brilliant…so beautifully said!

  • Anna Montgomery Says:

    Your conceit is marvelous and carried through with wit, irony, and style. I especially loved ‘ press on policies and plastic outrage’ as I just watched a documentary on how politicians are treating voters like consumers these days (as voters feel entitled to be treated). It is a frightening time.

  • Claudia Says:

    i have rosa parks on one eye
    and an apple in the other…oh wow…you had me with these first lines already..loved pres on policies and plastic outrage…what a wonderful scharfsinniger…have to look up the word..one moment..sharp-witted..write..

  • Susan L Daniels Says:

    Kelli–I just fell in love with this the second I read about flags pasting your mouth shut. LOVE.

  • Tony Says:

    “letters
    are filled with absence and whispers”

    These lines, among many others, leapt out at me. I used to collect stamps – a hobby that is probably dying in the electronic communication era.

  • ayala Says:

    letters
    are filled with absence and whispers…miss the days when I would receive a letter or a note from family and friends. There is an art to letter writing..a lost art. I used to collect stamps when I was a child. It was fun. Love your capture. ๐Ÿ™‚

  • Mary Says:

    Oh, I used to collect stamps. Still have a lot of them, but now I don’t know what to do with them. Smiles. I can’t imagine the days of 2 cent stamps….I bet in those days they didn’t think about having a ‘forever’ variety. I enjoyed this.

  • Poet Laundry Says:

    I love those opening lines…and this whole smart piece. With the USPS ending Saturday service it feels like a little bit of an ending to a big piece of our history. Love your words mrs…

  • Lincoln Freemont Says:

    This piece is simply brilliant! I love your style. “i have rosa parks on one eye
    and an apple in the other” was my favorite.

  • Aria Says:

    I love postage stamps. The more time runs from the old way of communicationg written language over a distance, the more I love them. Beautiful.

  • yelena Says:

    those first lines also caught my eye..great beginning of a great poem. that was intense and simply gorgeous. poetry in its purest form. thank you so much..

  • Yiota (@yiota143) Says:

    “letters
    are filled with absence and whispers: love this part ๐Ÿ™‚

  • Apryl Gonzales Says:

    and thatโ€™s not even counting how many
    flags it took to paste my mouth shut,
    a whole row of forever sealed with love

    Love this… Your imagery and your passion are palpable. I like the addition of Rosa Parks and the apple and how you built from there. Well written.

  • Stan Ski Says:

    Yeah… it’s all you have to do…

  • Buddah Moskowitz (@ihatepoetry) Says:

    This was clever and grooved along with a great rhythm – any poem that has philatelistic in it is fine with me. Great job!

  • Kim or Lisa Says:

    powerful read, I really enjoyed this poem.

  • Rene Foran Says:

    Beautiful. And I miss handwritten notes in the mail.

  • lori Says:

    I love how this piece just tumbles down the page, each new line as good as the one before it. And you have this way of saying simple things in a unique way that I really enjoy. Like,

    “and thatโ€™s not even counting how many
    flags it took to paste my mouth shut,
    a whole row of forever sealed with love”

    Well done!

  • danadampier Says:

    The price to stay in touch with loved one’s or to pay our bills has become crazy!I love how you bring this issue forth… and it does seem as if they will paste your mouth shut!

  • Glenn Buttkus Says:

    What a world our children & grandchildren inherit; the Post Office is struggling to survive as so much is done/communicated on line. Great hallowed newspapers are going out of print, and only being offered on line; ebooks, audio books, ipads/notebooks replace the soft/hardbacks of yore.
    I am old, but not longer a luddite–even so, I am not pleased by the losses.

  • Gretchen Leary Says:

    Wow, I absolutely love the flow to this and the way you’ve written it, can’t pinpoint if its just the style or the abstract you bring to it giving it depth. I really enjoyed this ๐Ÿ™‚

  • hedgewitch Says:

    This isn’t one to gobble up in one read, but rather something to savor–full of the sense of time passing unremarked, feverish, and so much else with it, yet knowing what envelopes were made for…beautiful work.

  • henry clemmons Says:

    Yes, a very nice piece, almost a voice of protest, but in a good way. Your words are packed with the passion you write with.

  • Grace Says:

    It can be simple as writing but not all have the inclination. These lines resonated with me:

    in this world of press on policies
    and plastic outrage refusing to fit into
    one ounce or seven at quarter past eleven

  • Kate Says:

    Where is the love button?

  • Ruth Says:

    such gorgeous writing! especially

    “a whole row of forever sealed with love” and

    “but even grand central station
    canโ€™t keep up with a butterfly
    that hovers just this side of blue”

    – i have to say it’s a lot easier to get me to write a poem than a letter these days… why is that?

  • Robin aka Gotham Girl Says:

    Excellent! I can’t tell how how much I look forward to your postings!

  • Marilyn Says:

    The words create images, but then we must write.

  • Arron Shilling Says:

    i have rosa parks on one eye
    and an apple in the other

    after reading the opening, i knew this was going to be good . . .

    and i must qoute anna here,

    “Your conceit is marvelous and carried through with wit, irony, and style.”

    because what i had in mind would have appeared to be plagarism otherwise . . . V well said anna!

    sharp and probing in a crafted, clever and very readable way: great PO!

  • lucychili Says:

    the flags across the mouth is a powerful image
    and letters filled with absence and whispers
    are also evocative. sometimes even one way correspondence is useful, when all we can do is write =)

  • Louise Says:

    Brilliant work! A lot to love in this and yeah, costs far more than 2 cents these days…great writing ๐Ÿ™‚

  • Susan Says:

    I miss letters and the delicious spaciousness of their kit of stamps, envelopes, stationary, pens of different colors and scale and stamp. But I have all that stuff and do not use any of them. Lazyness, I suppose, could be gotten over by the simple act and then let mystery into my life again!

  • kkkkaty Says:

    i had a career with the post office working with letters and stamps..always wanting paper around me…and the pen to put to it..still…it is so important..progress is now slowly evaporating one of the oldest labor industries and iconic legends in our culture and it’s sad..i was proud to be a part of the machinery with and the humanity it serves..quite the operation behind the scenes, and you gave the subject a lovely salute ๐Ÿ˜‰

  • Kelvin S.M. Says:

    …ah, i love this… and yes, there is Rosa Parks… smiles…

  • Beth Winter Says:

    I used to work for the post office and felt a personal connection with each line of your poem. Excellent work.

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