I’d like to send this by Second Class post 
Stick it on the scale 
There you are 
It is 100g 
Right 
Just under the limit 
OK 
If it had been just 1g more 
Yes 
The cost would be a lot more 
Good 
Stick it on again 
OK 
Yes, 100g exactly 
Good 
I need to see if it will pass through this slot 
OK 
Yes it does 
Good 
If it had been just 1g more 
Yes 
It would have been classed as a parcel 
But it’s just a small envelope containing a book 
Yes, but if it is even 1g over, it becomes a parcel 
Well it’s not 
They would class it as a parcel even though it’s not 
Thank you 
It’s your lucky day 
I guess it is. 

—From a series of “At the Post Office” found poems by Subacchi; Number 3 was published previously on the poet’s Facebook page (10 December 2018) and appears here with his permission.

David Subacchi

lives in Wales (UK) where he was born of Italian roots. He writes in English, Welsh, and Italian, and is the author of four poetry collections in English: First Cut (2012), Hiding in Shadows (2014), and Not Really a Stranger (2016), published by Cestrian Press; and A Terrible Beauty: 17 Sonnets for Easter 1916 (DCS Books, 2016). In March 2017, Cestrian Press released his first collection of poems in the Welsh language, Eglwys Yng Nghremona (A Church in Cremona). Subacchi’s work has also been published internationally in numerous online and print magazines, and in several anthologies. Awards include the Ceredigion Museum Poetry Prize. For an expanded bio and list of publications, see his blog at Write Out Loud.