January 2018
David Chorlton
DavidChorlton@centurylink.net
DavidChorlton@centurylink.net
I was born in Austria, grew up in Manchester, England, and lived for several years in Vienna before moving to Phoenix in 1978. Arizona’s landscapes and wildlife have become increasingly important to me and a significant part of my poetry. Meanwhile, I retain an appetite for reading Eugenio Montale, W. S. Merwin, Tomas Tranströmer and many other, often less celebrated, poets. http://www.davidchorlton.mysite.com
Postmarked Today
The postcard to Germany
has been stamped and recorded
by the post office clerk
who asks whether it contains
liquid or explosives
before she grants permission
for it to proceed on its journey
through the perilous times
in which we live.
Let the hand-written greeting be safe
and the photograph
of a historic mission church
bear a flake of Arizona history
back to the old world
as we remember pre-
digital days, that age before
violence took an intimate turn
to suggest itself into
our every innocence. And no,
this card contains nothing inflammable;
its only flame is that of memory
and it will fly across an ocean
bearing its message of goodwill
and the wish to unchange
the changes of a lifetime.
Postmarked Today
The postcard to Germany
has been stamped and recorded
by the post office clerk
who asks whether it contains
liquid or explosives
before she grants permission
for it to proceed on its journey
through the perilous times
in which we live.
Let the hand-written greeting be safe
and the photograph
of a historic mission church
bear a flake of Arizona history
back to the old world
as we remember pre-
digital days, that age before
violence took an intimate turn
to suggest itself into
our every innocence. And no,
this card contains nothing inflammable;
its only flame is that of memory
and it will fly across an ocean
bearing its message of goodwill
and the wish to unchange
the changes of a lifetime.
©2018 David Chorlton
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