| With each word they tighten their fetters | letters |
| and lengthen their chains. She swipes the notes he sends her, | splinter |
| locked in shining sheets, somehow there | here, |
| yet always beyond reach. Still she waits | pained, |
| with open hands, catching coin, never knowing | lowly, |
| the lips from which each leaf is torn – | forming |
| still, she prays, where spaces stood, his letters stand – | unspanned |
| still, where once he stood, she withstands grief | seas, |
| like pennies pounded thin, like thieving | cleaving |
| hands and mouths mutely confessing | confessions |
| that most essential crime – the sin | into |
| of lettering love. Even us judges then | penned |
| cannot set them free. | streets. |
|
|
