We've Got Mail by Susan T. Moss

We've Got Mail
by
Susan T. Moss

My parents moved in with me.

They arrived soon after the memorial

service and the family house sold.

Forwarded magazines, store flyers

and catalogs permanently acquired

my address with their names.

This daily dross pursues those

who have transcended worldly things —

hearing aids and playing golf with the

spry well-coifed in an opulent retirement

paradise and otherworldly — a tasteful

tri-fold promoting cremains buried at sea

or a stylish mausoleum rising above

rolling lawns under a perpetual sun

shining over my loved ones and me.

I've gotten used to the three of us here

in my small apartment. I added another

can for wastepaper and allow extra time

to read or rip what isn't mine. There's something

comforting when I'm reminded that Mom

and Dad, only a stamp away, haven't really left.

They show up most days about two-o'clock

when I decide what's worth keeping

and what's junk.

© by Susan T. Moss.
Used with the author's permission.

Susan T. Moss lives in Evanston, Illinois. A former high school English teacher, she is the author of Keep Moving 'til the Music Stops (Lily Pool/Swamp Press) and her work has appeared in several journals and anthologies. Currently serving her second term as president of the Illinois State Poetry Society, Susan says friends and family members inspire and influence her poetry writing, while traveling to all seven continents, hiking Kilimanjaro, skydiving (once!) and attempting to finish her bucket list of adventures often inform it.

pwax:
I, too, love it. Was almost finished reading it before I realized what you were saying. Great use of internal rhyme.
Posted 01/19/2014 06:46 PM

mukwonagosue:
Oh, Susan! I love this poem. It evokes perfectly what we all (at "our" age)have to figure--what to keep, what to junk. And you should see my garage since my in-laws passed...
Posted 01/19/2014 05:36 PM

Ross Kightly:
As evocative as the more common experience of sorting through old photographs discovered in an abandoned plastic carrier bag! What a great selection of details for the imagery: "... spry well-coiffed in an opulent retirement paradise..." Marvellous!
Posted 01/18/2014 03:39 AM

twinkscat:
Wow! I had no idea you've been skydiving and that you've travelled so much. You have a wealth to write about, Susan.
Posted 01/17/2014 03:01 PM

Jo:
You've captured it so well Susan. Going through much the same thing.
Posted 01/17/2014 01:06 PM

peninsulapoet:
Going through the same thing myself.
Posted 01/17/2014 12:13 PM

wendy morton:
Because the dead never really leave, as Susan tells us. Wonderful images.
Posted 01/17/2014 10:18 AM

Wilda Morris:
You do a wonderful job of using poetry to deal with the bittersweet realities of losing our parents. An excellent slice-of-life poem, Susan.
Posted 01/17/2014 09:32 AM

TheSilverOne:
Enjoyed reading this so much! I had been through this, and still get the occasional piece of mail.
Posted 01/17/2014 08:50 AM

Charly:
Such a gently humorous, yet touching poem. Thanks!
Posted 01/17/2014 07:13 AM

mimi:
sadly true...but good poem!
Posted 01/17/2014 06:56 AM

Barry:
Touching poem. Thank you.
Posted 01/17/2014 06:47 AM

Donna Pflueger:
Your poem caught me off guard in a good way! It is refreshing to be surprised. Well done! My trip to the mail box will be a much different experience from now on and it needed to be because that mail just keeps on coming. Thank you
Posted 01/17/2014 06:25 AM

Donal Mahoney:
This is a very well written poem that captures a slice of life not as sweet as some others. But it deals with reality. And there is, alas, more to reality than watching butterflies in summer flitting about and trying to decide which flower to land on. Thanks to Jayne for publishing it.
Posted 01/17/2014 05:54 AM

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