Call them.
It’s a kindness,
letting people know they mattered.
No harm in a phone call,
not with all the time gone by,
the bulwark of spouses and children.
Just don't mention that afternoon,
the chocolate cake,
how you can't even look
at chocolate cake now
without blushing.
Don't start any sentence with
Do you remember
because they don't,
not like you remember.
Just tell them you love them
and no one gets hurt.
Jean Ryan, a native Vermonter, lives in coastal Alabama. She is the author of two short story collections, Survival Skills and Lovers and Loners. She has also published a novel, Lost Sister, a book of nature essays, Strange Company, and a poetry collection, A Day Like This. https://jean-ryan.com/
Love is all you need🎶🎶🎶 Jude
ReplyDeleteIndeed it is.
DeletePerfect
ReplyDeleteThis poem hit differently. When I lived for three years in cloudy Ithaca, two babies under two, I didn't speak to a fellow adult, other than my husband, for the entire duration we lived there. To add to the misery, my phone never rang, even the night my second child was born. Thank you for this poem. It touched me deeply. These lines are everything:
ReplyDeleteJust don't mention that afternoon,
the chocolate cake,
how you can't even look
at chocolate cake now
without blushing.
LOVE this! So much said in so few words
ReplyDelete