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Postcards

Writer: Alison BlevinsAlison Blevins

I up-ended the contents of the brown envelope

and out fell my younger self

onto the bed

in words read multiple times -

snippets of my life,

now dog eared and aged,  

An accidental record of  

dreams and adventures.

 

Blue skies and snowy white peaks,

rushing rivers and alpine flowers

providing the clues as to where I was

and on their rear a few scribbled lines -

played down

since I realised

this would be her only security –

 

no phone calls, no text messages

no emails or WhatsApp group chats

just a postcard held on the fridge by a magnet

 

and a simple message -

I was alive on the day I sent it.

I had licked the stamp and posted it in the box

and I had made a promise to return.

6 Comments


Martin Pickard
Martin Pickard
Jun 25, 2024

Really liked this at OM last night. Love the 1st 3 lines

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Jarlath Busby
Jarlath Busby
Jun 22, 2024

Really enjoyed reading this- very nostalgic and poignant

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Stephen Kingsnorth
Stephen Kingsnorth
Jun 20, 2024

Wonderful! I well remember being in hospital in India, sending the note home, saying that by the time my mother received it I would have been discharged... What terrors our loved ones must have sometimes endured. I suppose the postcard was the poor person's telegram. You sum it all up beautifully. The last verse says it all!

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Alison Blevins
Alison Blevins
Jun 20, 2024
Replying to

Thank you Stephen.

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Jon Best
Jon Best
Jun 19, 2024

As always well crafted

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John Wood
John Wood
Jun 19, 2024

Simple and poignant.

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