I Am The Night

I am a photograph
that sits upon the shelf
inside a metal frame
and pressed behind a piece of glass

I am the pencil drawing
made for many weeks
matted softly
onto a softly hardened board

I am the written letter
licked and stamped
sent away
held and read and cherished for its words

I am all that's left
A photograph
A pencil drawing
A written letter
Lying on my table

I am the night
The night when you said
Good-bye.

PUBLICATIONS: Scop, April 1996, Corning Community College; and Essence of a Dream, Spring 1997, The National Library of Poetry, Maryland.

HISTORY: During this semester, I wrote several poems comparing people to objects. This one won me 1st Place ($35) in the annual Scop poetry contest.
That summer, I entered it into another contest, which it didn't win. However, the poem was printed in one of those large, expensive poet anthologies. I didn't order the book, but I did order a wooden plaque with my poem printed on it. Over the next two years, I continued to get mail from the company about poetry-related items, conventions, and other things. The poem, meanwhile, has also been posted on the company's website.