Well, crickets, you're gone again
and again I haven't gotten around
to thanking you properly - - - a habit of mine.
The same thing happened with my ex-husband,
though, at least, in his case, I tried.
(He hung up on me. Soon after, he died
but that's an old story. And long.)
My plan had been to pay my debt in song,
one from me for a thousand or two from you,
each a precisely calibrated hybrid
of lamentation and nightly lullaby.
From the sound of things, it was pretty hard,
whatever let you know just where you'd find me.
I'm so sorry, crickets. I'll miss you. Thank you.
--- Jacqueline Osherow
© 2016
Antioch Review
