A Final Notice
Now that your ghost is 65
they want to sell you life insurance
Now that you’ve been dead for 15 years
the AARP wants to claim you
The VA wants a donation
for the return address labels
from places you don’t live
Social Security recommends a supplement plan
but only during Open Enrollment
It’s time for a colonoscopy
now that your ghost is having a birthday
Everyone has a plan
that you can’t live without
The junk mail keeps coming
but you don’t
Please open immediately
No postage necessary
This is your final notice
_______Colleen Redman / Poets United
June 26th, 2016 11:10 am
When I receive something that says that it’s my last opportunity to… get something at its lowest price…it’s my final notice…I can only that it is.
Years after my husband died, I’ve received notices for heart check-up from the hospital where he died.
June 26th, 2016 11:38 am
The inane mail that is aptly labeled ‘junk’ that invades our lives even after death in the name of the almighty dollar.
June 26th, 2016 12:27 pm
When it all keeps coming… it’s like junk mails bring back the sorrow… it’s like an intrusion almost… great poem.
June 26th, 2016 12:31 pm
It’s also a bit of a jolt, too.
For about two years after my mother died I received junk mail for her at my address, and until they rediuced the local phone book to utter uselessness, her name was boldly listed, and had been, for the past 16 years since her death.
The house has been sold twice and burned down (once) and rebuilt but she was still listed at the old address…
June 26th, 2016 12:44 pm
This was written about my sweet brother Danny who died in 2001 at the age of 49 and was preceded in death by our dear brother Jimmy. http://silverandgold.swva.net/jimdanstories.htm
June 26th, 2016 1:51 pm
This is a cool perspective…..one doesnt often think about the junk mail that keeps coming to someone after their death…….ha! I enjoyed this.
June 26th, 2016 2:53 pm
A poignant title and a poem reflective of the world we live in – the system has our name and number but does not know or care about who we are and how we live
June 26th, 2016 4:37 pm
Oh.. I am soo sorry for your loss, Colleen.
Beautifully poignant piece.
June 26th, 2016 5:41 pm
I’ve seen this as well. My mother got mail LONG after she passed away.
June 26th, 2016 8:52 pm
Hahaha Yup! At 70 I thought I had a paddle until I noticed the fat part broke off. 🙂
June 26th, 2016 9:44 pm
Oh dear… the world of marketing just keeps on going…love the way you’ve written it, though it must be difficult to deal with on a regular basis.
June 26th, 2016 10:22 pm
Maybe he could get Medicare checks since they think he is still alive and 65! I dreamt about him and Dad recently ! XO
June 26th, 2016 10:24 pm
So true! One of my friends was actually told (when trying to stop the junk mail of ‘final notices’ for her deceased husband to renew a subscription) that the magazine would need to speak with the original subscriber. She tried to explain, multiple times, that he was deceased and they insisted they could only speak with the person whose name was on the final notices they were sending. Crazy-making and certainly not what a person needs to deal with following the loss of a loved one!!
June 27th, 2016 12:22 am
very true…
June 27th, 2016 9:05 am
i feel you ! i get so many solicitations. i’m going to get a rubber stamp that says: Return to Sender. No longer living !
June 27th, 2016 8:37 pm
I really like this poem, it speaks to me. Although they no longer want to sell me life insurance/
June 28th, 2016 9:02 am
I would have enjoyed this anytime, CR, but I’m really digging it today (now that my ghost is 65 and all).
June 29th, 2016 8:06 pm
[…] 5. Now that your ghost is 65 / they want to sell you life insurance / Now that you’ve been dead for 15 years / the AARP wants to claim you / The VA wants a donation / for the return address labels / from places you don’t live … More from, A Final Notice – an ironic and slightly humorous poem that really runs deep about getting my deceased brother Danny’s mail – HERE. […]