Rest in Peace
(written on the occasion of his first card to me)

I don’t want you
to end up
in a box--
another collection
of stuffed animals

another oversized envelope
full of love notes
with your name scrawled on top
like a tombstone

Here lies
One More Jerk
2005-2006

I want you to live
I want to keep your letters
where I can see them--
not buried
with the rest
of those deceased
love affairs
draped in
withered flowers

I’m running
out of room
in the graveyard
of my heart

Soon I’ll have to resort
to burying men
standing up
and cremating their poetry

But between you and me
I just don’t have the strength
to pick up the shovel again

I’m asking you
I need to know
before one more card
(or teddy bear)
or whispered
midnight oath

Do you intend
to hang yourself?
Or do you intend to live?