Commentary: World Postcard Day (poem)

'Twas the night before World Postcard Day, and all through the town
Not a pen wasn't stirring, oh-so-much to write down
Some wrote by lamp light with coffee beside
Others 'neath candles with tea or red wine

"I've written ten!" said one girl with joy
"I'm up to twenty," came the voice of a boy
And Mamma in her 'kerchief and I in my cap
Both knew that tonight there would be no nap

A marathon of writing, a celebration of mail
Not with keyboards and pixels but on cards and by snail
Messages of love and of friendship sincere
The farther they travel, the more they're held dear

From Krakow, Kinshasa and Kalamazoo
To Lapland, Lachish and Lima, Peru
Send one to a stranger, and they'll write you back
The next thing you know, a new bond is hatched

Postcards of beaches and kids having fun
Of buildings and mountains and cats in the sun
Some shaped like hearts or perfectly round
Others old-fashioned on paper turned brown

My fav'rite is this one; it's lenticular, see?
And this one's for Grandma -- it's a picture of me
A lifetime of treasure, six inches by four
A picture, a message: two sides to adore

A few write in rhyme, but most prefer prose
Some write in cursive -- I'm one of those
When choosing a postage stamp, take extra care
That it's not only pretty but covers the fare

At daybreak as one, the townspeople emerge
And 'round mailboxes and post offices briskly converge
In the square they'll discuss the events of the night
Who sent postcards where, and what did they write

On this year's World Postcard Day records we'll set
Ere a Postcard Day postmasters won't soon forget
Mailboxes bursting, O what a sight
HAPPY WORLD POSTCARD DAY ALL, AND TO ALL A GOOD-NIGHT.

© Amir Afsai, 2021