I canceled little things

A poem about lemons and TV stations and letting go

A. Cowen, 2024

The poem below grew out of my Sunday letter for August 4, 2004. Click here to read the full post.

I am sharpening my pencils and gathering tissues as I begin mapping loss and grief.

This is a paywalled post. Thank you to those supporting Illustrated Life.

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I Canceled

Right away

I grabbed scissors

I looked for strings

I canceled all 

the little extras, things 

I didn't use or took

for granted

Acorn, BritBox, PBS,

ad-free options,

TV channels

(I don't even get CNN now?)

I unplugged so 

many things, so many 

monthly extras that

seem simple, matter of fact, and 

that I never thought of as

decadent, not 

excessively so