Customer Service Enquiry

Dear Charon,

Have you updated payment systems

for your ferry on the Styx

to allow ‘contactless’ payment,

or do you still insist on coins

complete or in bits?

(Just asking for a friend)

Yours truly,

Mort, A.L., esq

Dear Mr Mort,

For me, it as a rare treat indeed

to have a customer letter to read

letters about death are usually left

for the eyes of the newly bereft

and not for the ferryman

With respect to the tech

and with all due respect

despite combustion engine invention

there seems no intention

of providing one for the ferryman (I still have to row, row, row my boat gently down the stream).

In regard of cash or card

this may seem a trite hard

but the answer’s ‘no way’

will I change how souls pay

I just need to know who will pay the ferryman

I look forward to meeting you.

Yours in expectation

Charon

Styx River Ferry Corp. (Registered in Delaware, Malta & Gibraltar). No returns. No change given.

https://www.napowrimo.net/

And now for our (optional) prompt. This is a twist on a prompt offered by Kay Gabriel during a meeting she facilitated at the Poetry Project last year. Today, I’d like to challenge you to write a two-part poem, in the form of an exchange of letters. The first stanza (or part) should be in the form of a letter that you write either to yourself or to a famous fictional or historical person. The second part should be the letter you receive in response. These can be as short or long as you like, in the form of prose poems, or with line breaks – and of course, the subject matter of the letters is totally up to you.

CLP 11/04/2021

14 Comments

MellowYellow says:

16th April 2021 at 16:48

Funny – but don’t appreciate his eagerness to meet. Creepy stalker Charon!

Christopher Perry says:

16th April 2021 at 17:19

Yes, unreciprocated on my part too! Funny that

barbaraturneywielandpoetess says:

11th April 2021 at 22:47

That was masterfully funny and entertaining. A great read

Christopher Perry says:

11th April 2021 at 22:51

Thank you for reading and letting me know your response. Funny is a funny thing. Funny that, when you think about it. 🙏

Little Charmer says:

11th April 2021 at 18:51

Excellent 👍🖤

Christopher Perry says:

11th April 2021 at 18:55

Thank you
1. Little Charmer says:
  
  11th April 2021 at 19:07
  
  You’re most welcome.
  Very clever this one.
  Loved it 🖤🖤
2. Christopher Perry says:
  
  11th April 2021 at 19:16
  
  Thank you. Was inspired by crossing on the Reedham chain ferry when out cycling this morning. Out in the Broads in bitter April winds. #normalfornorfolk
3. Little Charmer says:
  
  11th April 2021 at 20:04
  
  Sounds fab – if a tad cold 😉🖤