Dear Marvelous Universe,

It’s the first of April.

National Poetry Month

was one of my favorite things

once upon a time in this land.

So what happened to my first love?

Well, she died three years ago.

Not of lupus or alcohol

but of cancer, of course.

There’s no cure for cancer

yet. However, the researchers

are working hard on it. There’s

a lot of money spent in science

and technology because

they say we’re making progress

toward human evolution

and unlocking consciousness

despite evidence otherwise

and vice versa. G. K.

Chesterton preferred paradox

to Walt Whitman’s contradictions.

Meanwhile, my three-year old son,

with great urgency, requests,

“Daddy, refill my water bottle.

Please. I am thirsty.” So I do

rinse and repeat. We wash our hands

religiously. Thank you, Lord,

for this glass of drinking water.

It is empty. It is full.

It is finished. Once again.

by An Xu 4-1-20