gentlemen and scholars working at the post office
gentlemen and scholars working at the post office
he seemed so heavy
been there for as long as he could remember
as long as i could remember
picked up each of my letters
each must have been as heavy as he was
struggled with the last one
lost count how many times he had done this before
at least eighty four today
wasn’t even noon yet
became an expert at weighing things over the years
no longer needed the electronic scale
he’d been there that long to know within an ounce or two
probably made up stories
when people needed to mail large boxes
just to pass the time
boxes those size usually came with faces as heavy as he was
but he looked at my four envelopes
and then at me
not used to a stranger smiling
though he kept his face straight
how he always looked
probably how he’d look for the rest of his life
glanced at the addresses
(board of education)
asked me what i taught
and he followed up with a comment that i didn’t expect
but appreciated
with his face still straight
he said
try to convey to the youngsters
the power of the written word
it is more powerful than the spoken
i smiled
told him i would
and he told me to have a nice day
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