Dear Kay
Some years ago I had the idea that every single day I’d write a poem about someone I’d seen that day. Maybe in the form of a letter. I'd wanted to do this same thing with pictures once. There was a time (I have been in my apartment for years and years and years) when we had so many people sleeping on the couch or the floor (no blow up mattresses then) and I’m sorry not to have a wall of their pictures. A You Slept Here wall. Yesterday I saw one of my favorite people ever. An 89 year old writer named Kay. We met a while ago at Manhattanville College. She took my Good Story class. We have talked on Wednesday mornings ever since. I thought about that Wall (one of the thousand things I never did) and the poem idea and thought at least I could write a poem even just one about a person.
Dear Kay,
You might not like the dear Kay part. You may not even know though I hope you do how unusual you are unusual isn’t even the right word and unique is even less good Dear Kay I wish we could all be like you and I rarely think that about anyone except people like Dr. King and he wasn’t a Good Man (although he was a Great Man) you are a Great Woman a Good Woman you are unflaggingly optimistic about Life because yours is good and you make everyone else’s better you know how to listen and not just to listen to respond to help us think you have so many children and grandchildren you actually loved your husband took care of him never stopped reading for one day in your life never stopped seeing your friends and sometimes writing Dear Kay you have had your problems you did not dismiss them you knew that life can be good if you are lucky and you are lucky and we are lucky enough to know you. Dear Kay.