Lawrence Hall
Dispatches for the Colonial Office
Ghosted
In the half-light before dawn I checked the mail
I don’t know why; maybe I was awaiting some truth
When shimmering on the MePhone’s sleep-obscured page
A message from a friend long dead appeared
He made a joke about the January moon
And mentioned a book he had begun to read
He asked about my slow progress through a book since misplace
And chided me for not keeping up with him
I want to find that book
Because on some happy morning beyond time
he will
ask me about it