Twilight Box

From one lemur to a city of many other lemurs,
have a good evening
is how I suggested the local news anchor end his broadcasts
in a letter I wrote him last year.
I don’t remember why I was so into lemurs at the time,
but like most of my letters to regional celebrities,
it went unanswered.
And then, we were sad. We sat often on porches.
I spilled mustard on my pants and that upset me.
To make myself feel better, I wrote a rap star
living in the area, asking him
if he thought our local news achor should end his broadcasts
from one lemur to a city of many other lemurs,
have a good evening.
It also went unanswered.
Sometimes we played wiffle ball with neighborhood kids
to cheer ourselves up. I didn’t bother
with the whole lemur news anchor question
because I didn’t think they’d be interested.
I’d race them down the street on their bikes,
we’d lie in the backyard and watch the airplanes fly overhead.
It seemed we’d all moved on.
We bought a garden hose and three flower pots.
Mom called sometimes and we’d talk,
I decided I needed to fix the porch light.
Then one night, as my favorite show was about to begin,
I came across those pants with the mustard stain.
Those were the days, weren’t they?
The way we’d sit, all sad?
How upset the mustard stain made me,
how I thought writing Kanye West could solve our problems,
how the idea of hearing our local news anchor say
from one lemur to a city of many other lemurs,
have a good evening
meant something to me.

Copyright © 2008 Jason Bredle All rights reserved
from Redivider
Reprinted by Verse Daily® with permission