A Boy from Albuquerque

for Kami

Write me letters on that old Olivetti
and we’ll pretend things are the same as the used to be.
I’m listening to those bands again,
Caroline’s Spine and Alice in Chains.
They are pretending too, and I feel young again.
You’ve been in Idaho for too long, or is it Italy?
I can never remember, but I knew it is far from me.
I’m carrying you with me, folded up and tucked away.
So, tell me about your family and about the boys you’ve kissed.
And I’ll send you a sketch of a flower I found growing in my yard.
We’ll feel carefree and lovely,
and for a moment we will be together again.

Written 12 September 2019 in Payne County, Oklahoma.

Brian Fuchs, “A Boy from Albuquerque” from Okie Dokie (Scissortail Press, 2019)