I’m always too scared of truth to ask
how what happened which illness did he suffer
the when I know count condolences back from mine
until a happy post unrelated news photo at a party
three or four days he’s been gone
did I know did the algorithm show
this post from two three months ago
turn for the worse hospital loved ones
three or four years since I saw him last
the machine can show me december chill
christmas market two glühweins a lost corner
weekend london streets
three or four days in london since then
too little time too much shame I knew
a friend sitting by a window twenty hours before I left for good
he was ill a different disease I think
I had drafted so many emails in my head
I’m always too scared of truth to ask
Rob Packer is originally from London, but has spent much of the past decade in various countries including Kyrgyzstan, Colombia and, currently, Brazil. His poems have been published in Lighthouse, The Moth, Orbis, The Honest Ulsterman, the Dear Watson anthology and by the Poetry School. He also writes a blog, which includes translations and reviews of contemporary poetry, primarily from Brazil. A pamphlet of his translations of the Brazilian poet Thiago Ponce de Moraes was published in 2016.
More work by Rob Packer
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