Errant Letters

Much of my life, I've been writing
"Not at this address" when letters
come through meant for people who
moved on long ago. What happened
to all those people? Where did
they go? Did their forwarding
address fall through? I mean,
we're talking about many dozens
of errant letters. Did the move
to Denver become a disaster,
was their new job in Phoenix a
total wash, did the boyfriend
they moved to Miami with end up
starting some kind of cult? Did they
all disappear from the face of
the earth and now their legacies
continuously haunt me? Is this
my destiny somehow, always to be
forwarding love letters, Christmas
cards, and postcards from
vacations I'm not privy to?
Am I alone in this relentless
task or is this a duty that
every good citizen performs as
a matter of course? I've never
heard a word about this sort
of thing from anyone I know, so
I'm starting to think it really is
a phenomenon peculiar to me.
If there are others burdened with
forwarding correspondences for
people they can't be sure even
exist, please do be in touch.
I'd really rather not be alone.

(2008)