September Becomes A Ghost / new poems 2011

Thread Of Smoke

Sending letters to myself,
Reminders left to yellow
In a tin holding the fragrance
Of stale tobacco, matches
Waiting to be struck,
Their sulfur secreting
A decade's pungent correspondence,
Dear me
Patiently awaiting release
Into a world, a wind
That sighs beneath the weight
Of canceled postmarks
Delivering nostalgia, sentiment,
And a cache of regrets
On an unwinding thread of smoke.