A love letter to Clarice

Dear Clarice-
Hope this finds you
alive and well
in your FBI Lab
In Quantico, Virginia-

What gives you joy, Clarice?
Catching me, stopping me?
Is that what you fill
your days and nights
with; is that your desire?

Mine consists of walking
the streets of whatever city
you imagine me to be,
reading a newspaper
in French, or Italian,
drinking coffee,

and if I see a beautiful woman
in a tight skirt walking alone,
one afternoon,
and I find myself attracted,

I follow her alone
to her apartment
knock on her door,
and invite myself in
for dinner-

Satisfied, I take
what parts of her
I like,
to dine on later-

Does this upset you, Clarice?
Do it make you want to stop me?
What if I gave you the name
of some coffee shop
in Florence,

And, if you came by yourself,
I would actually be there
at the time I told you
to listen to what you had to say-

If you told me to stop,
that you would stay with me
if I stopped, so you could
protect those little lambs of yours,

Would you do it?
I can hear your response-
Never in a thousand years.
That's my girl.

Till we meet again, Clarice,

H

Jean Jones has an MFA in Creative Writing Poetry from Bowling Green State University in Bowling Green, Ohio. He teaches English as a Second Language part–time at Cape Fear Community College in Wilmington, and is regularly published by Horror Zine and Aphelion Webzine.

Find more by Jean Jones in the Author Index.