I want to give my students that Linda Gregg poem about absence,
But then, I think that they already know more about absence
Than I do or even Linda Gregg did.  Every week, before
The guards let me inside, my shoes, jacket, belt, and papers
Rumble through the X-ray machine, and I’m patted down
To make sure I’m not bringing in contraband, which includes
A lot of things you might not expect, like stamps or a letter.
I’ve followed this routine for eight years now.  Every week,
I bring in poems, which are their own kind of contraband.
But, I was talking about absence, which is more than grief
For a person you’ve loved or a place you can’t go back to—
The absence they know is a life that never happened,
One lived outside the gates and razor wire.  They don’t
Talk about it, and I don’t ask—but sometimes it stares out
From a poem or a chance remark.  Then, like one of the starlings
That land on the trashcans, it flies off over the fence, and I
Exit the clanging gate, climb into my car, and drive away.

George Franklin is the author of seven poetry collections, including What the Angel Saw, What the Saint Refused, a new collection from Sheila-NaGig Editions. He practices law in Miami, is a translation editor for Cagibi, teaches poetry workshops in Florida prisons, and co-translated, along with the author, Ximena Gómez’s Último día/Last Day. In 2023, he was the first prize winner of the W.B. Yeats Poetry Prize. His website: https://gsfranklin.com/.