Thank-You Note to Sandra from
the Anti-Matter Universe
by William John Watkins

This is a thank-you letter for you
from the anti-matter world behind your mirror.

Here, you shine;
here, all your toils are recorded and appreciated
and your admirable strength is genuinely admired.
None of your sacrifices go unrecognized here.
Here, you are a patron saint;
those who commit their bodies to hospitals
commit their souls to you first.
Your birthday is a three week festival.
Monuments are raised to your intercession everywhere.

Unbeknown to you, your struggles have provided us snowstorms,
your joy has given us beach days with great surf,
and your deep satisfaction provides 
pink and golden sunsets for our poets.
When you think of us,
smile.
We watch the skies for it like the Aurora Borealis
coming and going at its own whim.
We watch always for your presence in our world
like you watch for changes in the weather.

William John Watkins has published more than 500 poems. His sonnet "Wife of My Youth, Look Back, Look Back" won the 1994 Hellas Award. His short story "Beggar in the Living Room" was a Nebula Award finalist. His poem "We Die as Angels and Come Back as Men" won the 2002 Rhysling Award from the Science Fiction Poetry Association. His hobby is racing motorcycles off road with his son, Chad, and he is working on a book on those experiences entitled Hell on Wheels.