Whatever Happened to . . .

by Sharon Scholl

the people in my address book

that vanished in the trackless waste

of silence?

So vivid in my memory, preserved

exactly as we parted, untouched

by time’s disasters.

Not even the obituaries, the police

dockets trace their lost existence,

not my friends’ dim recollections.

They must be hidden somewhere

in an electronic thicket, protected

by secret codes and complex passwords.

It troubles me — the way we limp

from life, drift away like fallen leaves

floating helplessly in a sullen tide.

It’s the Schrodinger’s cat dilemma —

are they alive or dead?  Except I’m left

without a box to open.

***

Sharon Scholl is a retired college teacher who convenes a poetry critique group and maintains a website (freeprintmusic.com) of original music and poetry for small, liberal churches. Her poetry chapbooks, Seasons, Remains, Evensong, are available via Amazon Books. Her poems are current in Third Wednesday and The Bluebird Word.