P[e]NORAMA

.

Letters

Fill the sheet.

I read the words

But find no message:

I see only the misplaced question marks

And the oversized period.

I read not the words

But the gaps between them

Mirroring how

You stare at me sometimes:

Blank, yet undevoid of meaning.

Full in its emptiness.

Finally, I understand

What you’re trying to tell me:

You’re still here

But already gone.

I stare stupidly at the question marks

And curse the period.

Sherma E. Benosa

February 26, 2009; 8:45am