A Letter to Benji in Alaska
by Derek Hugen, 6-21-04
Benji, while you were gone on that Alaskan cruise, Tucson
was sunk by an iceberg, and it didn't make any white noise.
How was the honeymoon? Is the air crisp inside trees? I
have heard everything is beautiful in Alaska. How are the
coffee shops? Are they made by stacking mismatched igloos
into Fung Shui dadaism? How do they keep the coffee warm?
Do they use dragons? What does the sea look like at mid-
night? Are there mermaids? Do you think that one of them
would be interested in a bad poet from Tucson? Staring into
Susan's eyes, do you see a small heaven of memories blossom
up, already thinking back on the wedding, or even just that
last time you were able to look into her eyes, hold her hand,
smile goofy at her while she smiles back beautiful? Is it
what we thought, sitting back in my moms car behind Russ
and Emily's, (how many years back?), when we talked about
what we were looking for in a wife? You were looking for
someone who would understand your humor, was athletic,
& most of all godly. Then Susan came around and you
asked her out. From then on, was it perfect? Right now,
I'm waiting until you get settled in and draw out your
hospitality gifts, and your beautiful relationship opens up, and
I get to see how it's supposed to be. How is the buffet on
the ship? Can you ask the captain what the difference is
between a ship and a boat? Is it just the length, or are there
other factors involved? Like the anchor, or sails, or any-
thing? Maybe you already know the answer. Do you have
time to explore at all? To wander out into the wilderness,
smell the beauty of that wide-open territory, spill out into
hiking insanely and running, watching the landscapes whip
past your vision while you focus on some unknown nothing?
Does Susan keep up with you? Do you keep up with her?
I imagine you both overtaking the other and laughing. I
hear Night in Tunisia as the backdrop for a setting sun, as
you both sit on a big rock and take in the whole view. How
are your shipmates? Are they all older, or are some your age?
What words does the night speak when it thinks you don't
listen? Or do you not listen to the night? I would love to hear
what words. Paint them for me. I'll hang them in my room
and listen to them speaking with my Van Gogh's Starry Night
on the Rhone. Mostly, I'd keep them apart though, or I would
weep too much and never get to work on time. Is Alaska as
imaginary as Seattle is? Do the animals pose for pictures,
or do they not know you are there? I can't wait to hear
about everything. Come back soon. I expect poems.
-Derek | 
