(To an 8th grade student, before Christmas vacation )
Dear J_____ O _____,
you may remember
that two years ago
in mid-December,
looking to make
a present for your Mommy,
you decided to take
R. Owen’s More Christmas Origami.
I’ve wondered if before the end of this year,
after seven-hundred and thirty days,
the craft book might at last reappear
without any further delays.
But maybe it’s time I finally concede
that unless I can purchase it anew,
this’s a book no one else will use or read,
as it’ll never be returned by you.
I’ve hunted for copies online
of R. Owen’s Christmas book.
Paperbacks seemed priced at 10.99 –
though not upon closer look.
A search more thorough and less sloppy
showed matters not as promising as I’d thought,
for there currently isn’t an available copy
that’s in stock and may be bought.
I like to imagine that by now
you’ve had the chance to make
a green garland, small paper plow,
ornamental star, or white snowflake.
More likely, in all this two-year time,
Origami gathered dust beneath your bed –
and you’ll end up paying an $11 fine
for a book you neither used nor read!