Ode to Brevity

Ode to Brevity

I live in this room alone,

old news, old technology,

at the bottom

of my spiral

stairway—

there’s a note.

A Western Union telegram.

Dictum: "Your dad has died."

July 29th, 1982.

Old news.

Letter & stanza

come to an end here—

no period

(STOP).

An era ends (STOP).

Grief paid for by the word.

*Footnote:  After 10 years in exile, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, Vietnam War era,

I started the journey home. I found a telemarketing job selling coupon books in

Minneapolis, Minnesota. I managed to save enough for a room.

I got a landline phone, then got this message.

Biography: Michael Lee Johnson lived in Canada for ten years during the Vietnam era. Today, he is a poet in the greater Chicagoland area, IL. He has 378-plus YouTube poetry videos. Johnson is an internationally published poet in 46 countries, a song lyricist with several published poetry books, and a nominee for 8 Pushcart Prize awards and 7 Best of the Net nominations. He has over 653 published poems. He is the editor-in-chief of three poetry anthologies, all of which are available on Amazon, and has authored several poetry books and chapbooks. Michael has administered and created 6 Facebook poetry groups. Member of the Illinois State Poetry Society: http://www.illinoispoets.org/ and Poets & Writers: https://www.pw.org/. His poems have been translated into several foreign languages. Awards/Contests: International Award of Excellence 'Citta' Del Galateo-Antonio De Ferrariis XI Edition 2024 Milan, Italy-Poetry. Poem, Michael Lee Johnson, "If I Were Young Again."

Image: Unsplash, downloaded (https://unsplash.com/photos/sunlight-streaming-across-a-wooden-floor-VPcrHS7TTCs) 16. 4. 2026.

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