Susanna / Return To Sender Poem by Sean Furlong

I got your birthday card back that day
I had been expecting a reply
words 'return to sender' on the front
stamped by your mail office
no forwarding address

This was the first sign
that our casual friendship had gone awry
Happy-go-lucky it had seemed
casual chat on aim
helped move you out of your dorm
I'll still remember the conversation we had
the one where you said you liked me
just when I liked you in high school back then
I hadn't been sure how much to take out of it
I just didn't want what we had to change
from there and then on into the future

One small iota imparted unto me
you wanted to share it to comfort me
something to the tune of:
'Whatever happens, you and I will always be friends forever'

You never did come online after that day
My e-mail shot back saying your account did not exist
No sign of you on UCLA's data-base

I joke that you're probably dead
trying to lighten up the situation
the chilling truth of such a thing
I honestly don't want to find
I write this poem in your memory;
it to the internet I consign.

(3/4/05)