Through Mail

A box arrived with the mended teapot and a long letter sealed with wax. She
drew a picture of the clay figure she had included- it was like a hamster or
a gerbil, she said, but also entirely imagined. Already its long tail had split
into sections. I stared into the scratches marking its eyes and could not bear
to name it and make it knowable. Now it sits on my school desk, legs curled
beneath its flank, and waits for the day to come when I will need defending.