I See You Every Day

I see you - every day

all alone, standing on one leg.

I see your long body, curved on top,

always leaning slightly to the left,

tilted just a little with

rust melting down your sides.

Twelve miles separate you and the next.

I know you're lonely.

You've been here for a while,

I can tell, anyone can-

that you were once new,

shiny and black.

You were loved too, it shows.

Someone painted you white

and adorned you with flowers.

Traces of green stem and purple petals

fade into your sides.

How many hands, I wonder

have gracefully caressed you,

slid inside you

to see what treats you brought today.

How many giddy children stood under you,

tippy-toed reaching for your face.

Oh, the words you have carried:

love poems from sweethearts far away,

messages from a friend,

announcing her wedding day,

and the letter's from a son 

off fighting in a foreign land,

"Hi Mom, I'm okay."

Of course, you've known sadness as well.

No one escapes that.

Those letters of condolence 

meant to soothe, but never do, 

yes, I know, you've carried those too.

But, all-in-all you've had a good life.

You've seen families start and children grow

and new families begin. 

Now you are all alone.

The families you shared are all gone.

The road that led to your house, 

plowed over with soy as far as you can see.

No one stops anymore.

No one paints flowers on your sides,

or slips love notes inside.

You're still here patiently waiting,

hoping that someday, 

someone will need you again.

Don't be sad.

You aren't forgotten. 

I see you every day.

Author's Note

Thanks for Reading. I welcome your feedback.

Reviews

[jacob erin-cilberto]

geez, what is a letter?

there is hardly such a thing as mail anymore...and young people these days, many of my students, have no idea how to address an envelope...

this makes me very sad, but is really well presented...time passes, old times die.

j.

[James]

It's really a shame, letter writing is a lost art. There is something romantic about it that's lost forever. Email and text can never replace that level of intimacy. Thank you, Jacob, it's always a pleasure to see you've read my scratch.

[Kathy Van Kurin]

'I See You Every Day'
James,
Across the miles; yes mail was a treat from anywhere and anyone. All through my growing up myself and siblings wrote and received letters from mama's mama in Minnesota. Parents moved and married in Oregon from Minn. Much loved Grandma wrote faithfully and I wrote back regularly. Oh it is missed, the feeling of my own envelope with a precious letter. I still come across letters from her when going through or tidying. Think i'll write something about this. Your poem was really clever. Loved the way you use the nuance of a mail box's history into the history of people in letters and such.
Blessings.
Kathy

[Cierra Nicole Aguilar]

good job keep up the work

[James]

Well thank you.

[Woody]

it would never ever occur to me to write a poem about a letter box. if you'd asked me I would've said impossible. perhaps a line or two. and yet here you are finding the right words and conveying the right feelings in a long-ish poem. that my friend shows how good you are.
it is great to write about a defunct object. where did those beautiful days go, eh?

[James]

I'm not quite sure why I wrote it Woody, but I'm glad something readable came out. Isn't there something lonely about an old mailbox? I just couldn't help myself. And, thanks for the compliment, it means a lot.

[Lydia Shutter]

The emotions in this one are overwhelming, James. How sad....time moves on and leaves things and people behind. People who feel unneeded deteriorate just as the trees and the fences and the houses do. Personification in this poem is lovely. It is like a hug to the old times....and I enjoyed it. Lydi**

[James]

Thank you, I guess I've been feeling kind of nostalgic lately. I'm glad you enjoyed it and could feel the emotions in it.

[Shabeeh Haider]

Letter writing was so important a few years back. The mail box was a bridge between far off loved ones. But I see more depth in your poem, I see it as a description of man. Will we also become useless and unwanted when we will become old? Will there be someone saying: " Don't be sad, you aren't forgotten. I see you every day"

[James]

You got it perfectly, thank you. I really wasn't thinking about letter writing when I wrote this. I was thinking about time passing and getting old, memories, and needing to be needed.

[Carolynn]

This is such a sweet nostalgic write...things sure do change over time but it's pretty cool when we've been fortunate enough to see the change and appreciate what was :)

[James]

Yes, it is cool to see it, but sad at the same time. Think about how much love went in and out of that box. Thank you.