Poetry from Alan Jankowski Presents "The Letter" During National Poetry Month...

The Letter

By Alan Jankowski

I poured out every thought upon the page, 

Filling it up with all the rage and anger, 

That you have instilled inside me. 

My pen literally quivered, 

As I held it in my sweaty hand, 

Yet the words flowed swiftly, 

As venomous as any snake, 

And almost as deadly.

As I poured the last of the wine into my glass, 

I reviewed my handiwork. 

Three pages of anger. 

Three pages of hurt. 

An expression of all you’ve done to me, 

As best as I possibly could. 

I carefully folded the letter, 

And stuffed it in the envelope. 

And with quivering pen, 

I wrote out your address. 

It was late, and I’d post it in the morning. 

I went off to bed that night. 

The next day I spent quietly around the house. 

It was cold outside, 

And it was warm by the fire.

In the afternoon, 

I opened another bottle of wine. 

I sat pensively for some time, 

Just watching the flames dance 

Upon the logs in the fireplace. 

Amidst the crackling of the timbers, 

I picked up the envelope. 

I stare down at your name upon it. 

I take another sip of wine, 

And remove the letter. 

As I begin to read it again, 

I am reminded of everything you’ve ever done. 

All the hurt you’ve caused, 

To myself and my family, 

Comes back again over three pages. 

My blood starts to boil again, 

And my palms start to sweat. 

There is a damp thumbprint on the page, 

And the edges of the letter are damp and frayed, 

From holding it tightly in my hands. 

I lean back in my chair. 

I know I am not ready to forgive. 

I don’t know that I ever will be. 

And God knows I will never forget. 

In fact, I hope you rot in Hell, 

And if I could deliver you there myself, 

Lord knows, I would. 

But, I can never stoop to your level. 

I can never stoop to your level. 

I sit for some time just watching the fire. 

In a while, I pick up the letter, 

And walk over to the fireplace. 

I toss it upon the flames. 

I sit back down and sip my wine. 

And as I watch the letter burn, 

The sparks cackling, 

And the black soot fall upon the logs, 

I know I can never stoop to your level, 

But, there’s a part of me that says to myself, 

“God, I wish that letter were you.” 

~~~

11-07-11