Letters From a Cardboard Box in My Trash

 I opened my trashcan where it stood on the curb to throw something away.

On top rested a box, which I've come to recognize as the last thing people throw away when they become homeless.

It in were pages from several different notebooks, letters never sent.

I stood there and read them.

She was in love with a man, he was in love with someone younger. 

She went to rehab, she got out.

Druggie roommates stole her stuff. Ripped her off on the bills. Beat her up.

She wrote to her absent kids, asked for their forgiveness and understanding and told them how much she had loved them.

She prayed.

You don't know how lucky you are. 

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