Pretending to read the New Yorker

In my grandfather’s memory

Photo by Ewan Robertson on Unsplash

flip through the cartoons
clever and grey
pretend you have something
smart to say
when grandpa calls
did you read the story
about a girl who
could not recognize
her grandfather’s face?
by the famous writer
you remember him
we’ve spoken
about him before

don’t admit you skipped the poems
you should have loved
too academic for your taste
the fiction too professional
the articles too long
that you once submitted a poem
about a girl with a broken heart
they never replied
the editors in their fancy lofts
smoking and patting the famous
writer on the back
you never forgave them

he’s calling again from beyond
the page
asking
did you read the poem
about the girl with a broken heart?