Arthur Jaz was born in 1975, and not too long after that began writing. He currently works in the Imaging Department of an insurance company, scanning the most boring legal documents known to man.
Fall 2008
Table of Contents - Vol. IV, No. 3
Poetry Translations Fiction Essays
Arthur Jaz
"Hello Mr. Nice Man"
the sentence lingers in my mind
long after I close the old journal
and return it to the shelf
with the rest of the notebooks and binders
in October 1998 Liz G. wrote
"Hello Mr. Nice Man"
on the bottom of a note I wrote
to her welcoming her to our house
from college for the weekend
the words were printed small and careful
in pencil not pen but not erased
"Hello Mr. Nice Man"
and if I ever see her again
I'll tell her how alive they made me feel
if I emailed her now in June 2008
would it just bring up ugly memories of
me selling out our friendship until
"Hello Mr. Nice Man"
was a statement she regretted writing
I betrayed her and I never even knew it
until this week when I read the old journal
with that old note tucked inside and written in pencil
her words that were printed careful and small--
"Hello Mr. Nice Man"--
are what's left of all that
© Arthur Jaz
