1
How are you now, my darling?
I hope that you are eating
And your health is good.
Are the children well?
Remind Sonya to learn
Her alphabet and long division
And tell Michael that there is, there must be
Always always always
Hope,
That they must not worry about their father,
The future is what matters.
Learn, stay alive.
O- and how is the schnauzer?
Still eating you out of house and home?
The rascal.
2
O my darling- your letter!
I have read it twenty times
And have kissed every word on every page.
It came the long way round, of course
It reached me forty days after you sent it.
How precious it is and how near to you I am
When I read it.
You must not worry about me-
I have enough to eat
And the work is not hard
(I wish it was!).
My blood pressure is high
And my mental health is poor
(I have mad dreams and murderous thoughts)
But you cannot see a doctor
(Not that I would trust a doctor).
O my darling! – your letter!
I cannot stop shaking with joy
And with love for you all.
freeversefolkestone 