Junkmail because nobody writes letters
anymore and haven't for some time
and bills of course
for home and car insurance
property taxes
city wastewater
and solicitations from the Democrats
who have for reasons obvious to all
who think about it
fewer billionaires to prop them up
than their fat rivals in the GOP
then there's the requests from Amnesty
from Save the Children
the World Wildlife Fund
and fifty other not-for-profits struggling
to do the work our taxes should be paying for
or rather taxes that the corporate lawyers
are paid to shield their bosses' companies
from having to cough up
what else? the latest book
I've ordered from the internet
which is to say from Amazon dot com
and sometimes chocolates with benefits
so I can microdose and see
with eyes made new
the magic of my everyday surroundings
and once a year a check for royalties
from Harvard Press and my dear father's books
the ones I've never had the stamina
to read although in other genres I'm a reader
that's about it
god knows how the junkmail
outdoes the rest by twenty-five to one
yet I'm ever optimistic
even eager
to see what's in the mailbox
once the postman's come and gone