I opened your forty-second mail
Last night at 1 a.m.!
Wondering at the progress we have made
In six months of mailing

You have written
About your new life in Mumbai
Your two room flat
The new boss ten years your junior

Your one-liners have progressed
To four kilobytes
The joy of new anonymity
Anxiety about your teenage daughter

I remember

The match making website
My persistent messages
Your initial hesitation
The slow progress to confidence

We are both peeling off our
Carefully acquired covers-
The false names and a/s/ls*
Like a first time couple
Removing clothes

Yet, we leave blanks in the life histories
Some answers are held back,
‘Cause some questions
Are never answered

I fantasise you- Fortyish, fair
Not too tall not too short,
A little on the plump side
That’s how I like my women

I know you have your fantasies
And it scares me
I am worried
I may not fit your bill

I want to go on
My cyber friend,
Continue this
Virtual relationship

So, here I am
Starting my forty third letter

Dear Ms C,