Undeliverable
The mail for the residents is laid out
on the white formica table in the hallway.
The ambulatory rifle through the stack.
An aide picks out letters for the bed-bound.
A small pile remains. The aide checks the names:
hospital, vacation, hospital, deceased –
the green envelope with the foreign stamp. She tears
the corner off for her grandson, stashes it
in her pocket, drops the letter into the waste basket.
Through the torn paper, she catches
a glint of glitter and the word Merry.
*
Agnes Vojta grew up in Germany and now lives in Rolla, Missouri where she teaches physics at Missouri S&T and hikes the Ozarks. She is the author of Porous Land, The Eden of Perhaps, and A Coracle for Dreams, all published by Spartan Press. Her poems have appeared in a variety of magazines. Her website is agnesvojta.com.
