Dear Lily by Patrick G. Metoyer

The Unexpected Beauty of Imperfect Things, by Lorette C. Luzajic, 2013.

Dear Lily,

a bit hectic of late
happens every year

fall disappointed many with
floods and tornadoes

not enough to dispirit our souls
the way parisians felt shock

waves across the pond
wish we assisted more

the way lafayette aided our
revolution years after

pilgrims landed on
that rock    scraped

their knees in humble
prayer of gratitude that

enough mayflower refugees
weathered that harsh

first year     to carve
out a nation and

bequeath to us
frenzied

freedoms of
black friday

small business
saturday

cyber monday –
I pondered:

call you
email

fax or
text

I felt I needed to
keep in touch to

keep practicing
before cursive, hand-written

notes become lost
like the ark of the

covenant
silenced

like our liberty bell --
any idea, Lil

if signers of our
declaration

dipped turkey
or eagle

quills
into ink wells

any idea whose
days were

numbered before their
blood crimsoned the

parchment
any idea which ones

died before the advent of
selective service

social security
medicare

which ones succumbed
before age sixty-eight

p.s. Lil
warmest regards to
Ernestine

Patrick G. Metoyer

Metoyer's first inclination on viewing the painting was to write an early-communications' poem inspired by the black wind- and snow-blown "telephone lines" conjuring Lily Tomlin's “Ernestine-Ma Bell” character dutifully inserting wires into a console to make connections during a storm. Although his poem eventually took a calligraphic turn, Metoyer wanted to pay homage to Tomlin by addressing the letter to her and Ernestine.

When he is not engaged in visual arts, Colorado resident Patrick G. Metoyer  enjoys reciting and performing his creative writings. His poetry and prose in the past few years have been featured in Grand Valley Magazine.