Agnes Vojta

Greeting cards they don’t make

I tried to find a card for you.
Get well soon” sounds fine
for the flu or the leg you broke walking the dog.
It doesn’t cut it
for fist shaped bruises.

May only peaceful memories touch your heart today
is a tall order when you’re dictating
(can’t write with that concussion)
your statement for the prosecutor.

The goodness in you brings out the goodness
in everyone around you
is insulting.
It obviously didn’t in him.

And “Give all your worries to God ”?
You’ve tried that for years.

I am sick of hearts and of angels. I want
a card that shouts:
“You’re a strong woman,
and we love you,
and we hope the bastard
rots in jail.”

It would be a bestseller.

 


Agnes Vojta grew up in Germany, spent a few years in California, Oregon, and England, and now lives in Rolla where she teaches at Missouri S&T. Her work has been published in Gasconade Review, Poetry Quarterly, Southwinds, and elsewhere.