Christmas cards, 2 a.m. This tired and after two drinks you can’t remember who’s dead who’s alive you have to stop to think of the names of babies grown into people you barely know and never see and do they still live at home with their parents have they married do they have children you Happy Holiday a man a mile away who brings your daily paper though you don’t know the man by his face only his work you reward his ethic you leave out the name of a friend’s ex- fiance for the first time in years you realize people are disappearing and it’s only a matter of time

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