‘Pauline’: Jessica McCallum 2002 #jessicamccallum #francesmacaulayforde
Call Waiting
I killed you!
I took away your power to insult.
Never again will your strident, insistent beeping
intrude on intimacies between friends.
No. I struck you off.
I pressed the buttons that devoured you.
I ended your reign of terror.
Then Pauline rang
‘A new baby? Wond….’
Beep – Beep! Beep – Beep!
You didn’t die!
From happy jubilation
brain switches,
buttons pressed,
retreating “Call me back.”
I lost the war.
I don’t blame Pauline.
Rudeness is forgiven under pressure
from the mighty “I wonder who it is?”
Someday I’ll explain
and continue my campaign
for courtesy.
I died a little.
Aren’t I important too?
Frances Macaulay Forde © 2002
(Another from my book “Hidden Capacity ~ a poet’s journey”. )
#HiddenCapacity #francesmacaulayforde
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