Count, Measure, Label

Today I wore
no socks
to the mailbox 
when Pacific Northwest
earth 
squished between 
my toes.

Your letter is long
     overdue.
Rumor has it
you sent it last week
in 1983
when the average
monthly rent was $335
& there were
     no tents
on the sidewalk.

I've traveled the world
in your pocket, the stick
     long lost
from that worn-out
postage stamp (at a measly
     cost
of twenty cents).
 
Something tells me you lied
or lost it.
Me—easily 
forgotten like those
who’ve given up. 

Yet me?
I’ve not forgotten
     you—
I just can’t help
but focus
     now
on skyrocketing rent
that’s brought defeat,
made tents
the only option
     for some,
sleep,
a mailbox
& a stamp
all foolish treats.

For today's prompt, write a number poem. You can include a number in the title of the poem, or drop a number somewhere in the middle or end of the poem. Count sheep, poem by numbers, or share 10 ways to write a poem. There are any number of ways to come at this one.

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