CORRESPONDENCE

The minor official

Who became the God

Of calligraphy

Was the first to respond.
To the ad: "I

Am old

And lonely

And will answer all letters."

Being not busy

He writes her often

Since he’s not

Received a prayer

Since 1963.

NOT WRITTEN

There was to be, my notes tell me, a poem

About the trumpeter Columbus brought with him

To play a fanfare for the Chinese Emperor.

In China, three ghosts and a raven

Were waiting to whirl him and his horn

To a different court entirely. I believe

The God of Calligraphy had agreed

To make an appearance halfway through.

Alas, the trumpeter or I missed our time

And the poem sailed off without him.