His past is lodged in an envelope sealed
since 1966. To open it would disturb its
gummed silence and free history, mystery
and facts, perhaps reveal too much.
A simple white envelope holding early
writing and animations, documents and
emanations from the other world where
his brother now lives. It’s tucked in an old
copy of Paradise Lost, illustrated by
William Blake. O little lamb, who made
thee seal and cram thy past away?
In Memoria
Elizabeth Kerlikowske is the author of 8 chapbooks and the larger book, “Art Speaks”, with painter Mary Hatch. Her latest chapbook is The Vaudeville Horse. She is past president of Kalamazoo’s Friends of Poetry and The Poetry Society of Michigan. She was awarded the Community Medal for the Arts in 2017. She loves the deer and hates the deer that frequent her Kalamazoo backyard.