That Letter Poem by RIC BASTASA

i will be honest with you
i once wrote a letter
for you
many years ago
telling
that I LOVE YOU

but then something
wrong went with my mind

childish, immature
selfish,
fleshy, they call me

i took the letter
and read it again
under the lamp
dim
near my bed

i was hesitant to tell
you what i really feel
because i know
you would not believe me
anyway

(liar! liar! you always
call me that name)

and so let me be honest
with you
i decided not to send
it
despite its truth

i folded it
shaped it into the form
of a japanese crane

(origami, that is the
art of paper folding
and the japanese believe
that an origami crane
can cure the sick
the loved one
and i believe that
too)

i looked at it carefully
when it was finished
the shape of
a crane, the white one
with letters on it

and then i opened
my window
it was cold and dark
and i sent the
crane into the
open space
beyond me

i never dreamed
that it will reach
you
i did not believe
in love
i did not believe
in you