Dear Mr. Aboffnear: Jackson Morris '21

I title the work of which I write:

Dear Mr. Aboffnear

For my carriage races to the post

To send it away tonight

Companion, are you not alright?

I see, you wish to hear Of the mail my heart draws close

Sit aside — see this sight

“You once were a monsterous blight

That my mind sought to sear A daunting face, unrelenting pose

And eyes forescarred with spite”

Mayest my critique be too trite?

Oh, at me do not leer “I think of you as a dead rose

Such a being made of fright”

“Our destinies often made us fight

Till a punch drew gentle tears We laid down arms and not as foes

But as friends we found light

“My joy was true — hate lost its bite

Now we were forged as peers So days passed, bonds of trust transpose

As friends we became tight”

“Go forth time! Mutation takes flight

Challenge my ignorant ears Such companionship never arose

Friendship is spiritual might

“Summit hikes are biannual rites

Like a jagged steel gear That ensnares our selfish woes

There we were to unite

“The fool wallows in his hindsight ‘If only I was to veer!’ The mountain was smothered by snow

We set out at moonlight

“But in a dreadful rain of white

Avalanche hath came here Our valleyside journey took blows

I lost a friend that night

“Horrible fiend, valiant knight

Dear Mr. Aboffnear To meet again in death I pose

Promise me this delight!” -Jackson Morris '21