Christine K Munsell Poet Free verse

I Wear Your Handwriting

I Wear Your Handwriting


I don’t need to open the letter, 
I need the quiet 
Light touch
You standing behind me, but 
This is a very faded memory.

I don’t need to open the letter, 
Because I know that the words inside
	Will be a strange poem 
		A poem about knowing and awareness
			About behavior.

I waited a day to open the letter,
I read it once and folded it - 
Put it back in the envelope, not ready to try to understand.

	            The chances of a man ever touching me again
		    With love, the kind where the man
		    Would write me a poem and say
		    Yes, I take you back 
		    The divorce was a phase, 
		    A a ten year wormhole to this place now: 2026, 
                    Where I love you even more than all the decades before.  

The poem in the letter says:
I love you. Let's share our houses!

No, it doesn’t! 

This is what the letter really says: 
It quotes G.I. Joe and says, 
“Knowing is half the battle. Now you know.” 
But you don’t say what you know 
Or what I should know. 

I wear your handwriting, 
I have all the letters and cards you’ve given to me since 1982, 
I wear your handwriting, because that is all there is now,
You’re gone, even though you are still alive.

I will always have your letters, and 
No matter where I go in the future without you,
Always wandering, a lost fool,
There will never be a day in my life that I don’t wear your handwriting
As you are the only person who has ever loved me.

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Ink Empress May 5, 2026 at 3:34 AM The ending is so touching, such devotion makes my heart feel so much. Love the uniqueness of your writing. Pleasure reading, thank you for joining, congratulations! Sending you light always Christine K Munsell May 5, 2026 at 10:43 AM Thank you, Ink Empress. I so appreciate your thoughtful words, letting me know someone does understand my writing. This was a very personal poem, as are many of the poems I write. I appreciate the 4th place glory, and I will bask in it! :).

Ghairo Daniels April 18, 2026 at 2:42 PM A beautiful share, Christine. Very honest and vulnerable write. I feel the sadness and wisdom in poem. I like the formatting- it gives the poem breathing space, which is necessary for what you are expressing. It makes the disjointed emotions expressed very tangible. Well done. Sending Light & Strength., Ghairo. Christine K Munsell April 18, 2026 at 3:26 PM Ghairo, Thank you for such thoughtful feedback. I am glad to know someone enjoys this poem and my meaning was able to come across clearly.