How the Universe Winks

How the Universe Winks

It was easier when the boxes were new,
special delivery left on the front porch
left no doubt of the sender’s intentions.
Time has
warped the containers and I cannot
find the
reminders of words I wrote to faces I
barely remember.
I never asked for refunds, only something to
exchange
to take the place of silence that has
worn me out.
People who barely know me wave
as I walk by,
but the ones that cradled my heart are at
the bottom of a storage container in the
garage, musty as cardboard, gritty as
8 track recordings.
Remember when we sang like we
knew how the universe winked?
Remember how we hid our shy inhibitions
behind every verse?

It was clearer when the fog rolled it
making the air touchable, making our cheeks
sweat.

Do you remember when we paid little attention to
babies
until we had our own,
until they had their own? Do you miss
finding scented envelopes in the mail?