phonepoem #2
when I call a business a library or
almost any number not a friend
a robot voice will say listen carefully
for our menu has changed then come
seven choices none the entrée I need
if I could hack into those kitchens I’d offer
three selections appetizer first: “if you want
to jump through a dozen onion rings and
after ten minutes be back where you started
push 1” the main dish: “if you crave a
live human knucklebone push 2 good luck”
dessert is last; push 3 if you want to tell
all menus to go fricassee themselves
perhaps I’d offer 4: a conspiratorial voice
would croak, “the number of the rice den
down the alley is 808-xxxx have a nice day”
2011 Jacqueline Jackson
This article appears in Feb 2-8, 2012.
