February 2012

Ode to a Mailman

February 24, 2012 20:50

Dear Mailman,

Do you know what you hold in your hands?
Do you realize the power that lies in the letters you handle?
Do you comprehend the anxiousness of your waiting customers?
Do you understand the heights of happiness they can rise to, or the depths of despair they can plunge to?
Do you know the earth-shaking differences between a fat letter and a thin one?
Do you see that an entire future is at stake in these letters?
Do you understand the power of those awful words, "We regret to inform you"?
Do you comprehend how much is riding in your capable hands, while you drive through snow and sleet, rain and shine?

Two letters, in the mailbox.
One is thin, and one is fat.
One is from the audition where my tone was thin, and my intonation scratchy.
One is from the audition with the friendly faces, the beautiful practice rooms, and the school that I least wanted.
One is from a place with August Personages, Caterpillars, and broken hair ties. It is the one I desperately wished would go right.

The thin letter comes from the thin audition.
The fat letter comes from where it is least wanted.

O Mr. Mailman, do you know?

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