George Franklin

ILLEGIBLE

The sky its usual blue, clouds peeling
Off, abandoned in the afternoon air—
Whatever you had to say, has been said
Already, and then again. Green letters
Drop from the branches, addressed to someone
Who no longer lives here. The post office
Will not forward them. Their ink fades onto
The squares of pavement, dries invisible,
Like messages spies send to each other:
Tell Mother we enjoyed the chocolates.
Send photos of the baby taking her
First steps. It’s all in code, the sunlight slant
Against the fence, the gray wood in shadow,
The noise of a plane passing to the east.

George Franklin is the author of four poetry collections: Noise of the World (Sheila-Na-Gig Editions), Traveling for No Good Reason (winner of the Sheila-Na-Gig Editions competition in 2018), a dual-language collection, Among the Ruins / Entre las ruinas (Katakana Editores), and a chapbook, Travels of the Angel of Sorrow (Blue Cedar Press). Individual publications include: Cagibi, Into the Void, Sequestrum, The Lake, Verse Daily, Pedestal Magazine, and The American Journal of Poetry. He practices law in Miami, teaches poetry workshops in Florida prisons, and co-translated, along with the author, Ximena Gómez's Último día/Last Day (Katakana Editores). Website: https://gsfranklin.com/