Who will tell,
as year in, year out,
the algorithm reminds them
to wish you happy birthday,
and they are not bothered
by your continual non-reply,
as you never were
one to dazzle a cocktail party,
belly laugh, guffaw—
content to quiet corners—
and so they are pleased
with their triple heart emojis, confetti horns,
despite your long absence,
and you are that philosophical tree—
redwood, perhaps?—
deep in a forest grove,
unnoticed fallen log we pass,
home to grouse, ants,
clustered sulfur tuft,
ever silent.
Published in Cider Press Review, Volume 23, Issue 5.
Patricia Caspers’s poetry has appeared recently or is forthcoming in Sugar House Review, Malahat Review, and Mom Egg Review. Her second full-length collection, Some Flawed Magic, is due out from Kelsay Press in December, 2021. Caspers is the founding EIC of West Trestle Review.
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