Disappearing Art

Disappearing Art Not many people send Handwritten letters any more. We used to go the mailbox Full of high hopes. Maybe a favorite aunt wrote That she was coming for a visit, Or we discovered a letter From that special person, and We’d tear it open right there! After we’d read them, often We tied the letters in packets With a piece of blue string, To be reread and savored Later, over and over again. Sadly, now that we can send e-mails Nearly anywhere in the world And expect a quick reply, Written letters seem old-fashioned. And yet, we’ve learned so much About the past from letters That helped us understand The letter-writers and their times - Letters from a president, a statesman, A prairie mother, a soldier overseas. What of the correspondents of today? Will museums display their e-mails? I wonder how great will be the loss – All the stories that will never be written And all the history we will never know.