A Different Hallmark
for Elizabeth Van Doren
I. Connecting
She calls me collect
from the state mental institution
and tells me
that I was in her hallucinations
when they carried her in.
'See, ' she says,
'You have become
such an important part
of my life
that you are in my hallucinations! '
by that
she means
I love you.
by that
she means
I might be useful to her.
'Do they have a Hallmark card for that? ' I ask.
'I don't know' she says, 'but they should! '
II. The Card
I wanted you to know
that sometimes in the snow
between television channels
or between the lines of the news
when they whisper at me
that you can interrupt the broadcast
winking
from the anchor desk
making shadow puppets
on the weather wall.
(Don't think I wasn't privy)
©
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