The Mail

The mail came,

I sifted through,

Threw out the bad,

Saved the good.

There was the usual shit

Lazily thrown into cheap envelopes

Addressed anonymously

To anyone willing to open,

I didn’t hesitate -

I tore them to shreds.

Occasionally they were personalised,

Acted like they wanted you,

Treated you with an address,

Called you names you knew

But underneath,

You know it’s going to disappoint,

That really, it’s just the same wolf

Dressed in finer paper.
I saw through it of course,
It was simple enough -

I tore them to shreds.

Then, the pamphlets and leaflets

Offering all sorts of change,

Promises of better futures,

Of progress, improvements,

Interests and inspiration,

You fall for it, at first -

The colours entice you in

But eventually, depressingly

You see the price

And then you realise

It’s impossible, inevitable
And never going to happen -

I tore them to shreds.

Little left now, just the bills

Demanding money

For services rendered -

Overpriced, naturally,

But you have to pay

If you want to live - it’s sad though,

Sometimes you pay

Not to live, but to survive
To simply, exist - I’m sick of that,

Paying to last, to endure
To just get through
One more day...

I think I'll tear these up too

And see what happens. Afterall,
What bad news can the mail bring
If you no longer choose to open it?

So fuck the mail -

Your move, postman.

Copyright © 2013 by Simon Austin