On Stamps
I
A flying rat, or a lesser long-nosed bat,
for seventy-five cents will accompany
your letters and your packages to their
intended destination. And that’s that.
II
A cat wears a yellow t-shirt on which
is printed the likeness of a nondescript breed
of dog head. Is that a lab, a hound of a sort,
a collie? The caption says, “I love you” in polish.
III
Apparently, at one point in the history book
of the United States Postal Service, a stamp
was made of a child holding an adult’s hand.
Retarded Children Can Be Helped. Look!
IV
Whole groups of people, of these ideas, were fond,
thought they were worth the paper they were printed on.
michael jarmer 