Absent Absence

Unexpected and interrupting
in your wet boots on my
grandmother's antique Persian,
you have once again taken
from me your absence,
a thing I have come to treasure
and one whose loss grows
harder to bear than
once your absence was,
and these are only five
of the quick and small
of why,
henceforth,
I hope to help you
to perfect a perfect
non-attendance record
at this address.

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Copyright © 2011 Stephen Malin All rights reserved
from Beloit Poetry Journal
Reprinted by Verse Daily® with permission