Student Publishing Program ::

Frederica Rockwood

Companion

Dear Garrison Keillor,

There’s not much I truly know.
There is a lot I wonder, though.
I know what you do as I listen from afar,
But I wonder who you really are.

I know your show crackles to life every Saturday on 89.7,
But I wonder where that version of you was born.
I know you are “from” Lake Wobegon,
But I wonder why your woe won’t go.
I know Guy Noir searches for the answers to life’s persistent questions,
But I wonder if you wish life would just shut up.
I know you merit ketchup with natural mellowing agents,
But I wonder if you’re one dose from comatose.
I know you trail off in the middle of sentences before finishing,
But I wonder what your mind is scouting ahead for.
I know you speak with an honest despair in each line,
But I wonder if it’s anecdotal or a lovely little lie.
I know you help me find myself,
But I wonder if I’m lost.
Because,
I assume you are.

There’s not much I truly know.
There is a lot I wonder, though.
I know some of your life’s labyrinthine shape,
But I wonder what hope I have to escape.

Sincerely,
Frederica Rockwood

[TABLE OF CONTENTS, LHS CLASS OF 2011 EDITION]