Joy with the Change Counted
Founder accepted by Kavonte Jones Sr. · August 23, 2026
To the future asking what abundance looked like,
I am writing from the front stoop after good news.
Beside me: a scratched portable speaker.
Above the page: “Joy with the Change Counted.”
I will not make this letter
pretend it knows your private answer.
I will not use affection
as a key you did not offer.
I can admit that joy gets mistaken for denial when it refuses to perform damage.
I can keep the admission
on my side of the table.
I can let your silence mean only silence.
For this literary voice, abundance can be shared without being romanticized.
The claim is modest on purpose.
It belongs to the poem,
not to every life beyond it.
My next line is to pay for the food and thank the cook plainly.
My next line is behavior.
My next line leaves room
for a boundary to remain a boundary.
When the letter closes, cobalt cloth lifts above a table of citrus.
No reunion is promised.
No reply is manufactured.
The envelope stays unsealed.