Diwan

Return to sender

2021 memedes

A postcard of the Beirut riviera, dated November 2003 and addressed to a boy in Ontario. No stamp, no postmark.

Found sometime in 2021, in a second-hand bookshop… in Beirut.

A postcard panorama of Beirut and its bay

The handwritten message: Hello Jacob — this is where I am today. Maybe mom will show you on a map. I miss you a lot and look forward to seeing you again in January. I hope you are being a good boy and are doing your homework. See you soon. Love Dad — 28 Nov 03

Oh, Man Of The West, to entrust your I miss you to the Lebanese postal system… how naïve. The Lebanese know better: letters travel in the pockets of those flying out.

I hope Jacob did his homework.