The Lines
stretched along
the side
towering like trees
glistening in the morning sun
dripping like spider webs
in the rain
these lines
carry connection
from one end
to the other
the dial
the punch
the press
the ringing
the hello
the “how ‘ya been …”
the hang up
the silence
the busy
the static
the hold
the wait
the call back
the forgot
the pick up
the ignore
the message
left
the tone
the truth
the trying
“he died last night”
“she took her own life”
what now
“the wedding’s when”
“ok, we’ll be there then”
the honeymoon
is over
“congratulations, it’s a boy!”
he’s getting older
“did you hear about that”
“yeah, it was so sad”
that’s life though
ain’t it
complex in the cruel
wonderful in the weary
sweet in the bitter
careful in the crazy
beautiful in the not
tragic in the torture
dead in the life
sheets in the sadness
singing in the dancing
empty stages
nobody came
the plate’s still full
left the drink
chilled
who’s gonna clean the kitchen
mow the grass
mail the letter
make sure it gets there
in time
does it need a signature
do you have a pen
you always have a pen
yeah, but
it won’t
here, use mine
thank you … I love how it writes
no, you keep it
TL