silence (i think) now i call it "Cell Service":)

a free verse (yes it happens sometimes) final draft and added a spoken word link

I know I’m closer to god

Because so many of my phone contacts

Are gone now

When I dial them up

They don’t always answer

And when they do

I never know what to say

So I just listen to them breathe

I hate to be the one

To hang up first

But I don’t want them

To hear me cry

So I just hang up

after a silent sigh

and I drift off to dream

in the unspoken’s

lullaby

I know one day

Most of my contacts

will have passed

and I will lose

my landline too

I hope by then the epitaphs

I’ve struck

Will merit your view

For In the twilight

Of a poets heart

When all that remains

Are the ghosts

Of their affection

They can only slip away

when the lines

of their conduction

hold sway

to connection

I know this

now

Because I heard

Their silent whispers

too

Author's Note

Robert · Cell Service

Reviews

[Stella Armour]

I just know where you are coming from with this on Bunny.
Some of my friends from way back haven't sent a Christmas card this time although they have my new address and i am frightened to ring their number in case it is bad news or no answer .... :(

[Robert Trakofler]

we can take solace in the knowledge that they are always in our hearts dear Stella

[Stella Armour]

They certainly are Bunny ... can't post anything at the moment as the captcha thing isnt working:(

[Moonie]

It's hard to let people go, and it's weird how easily they leave and how life keeps going on despite that. Great writing! Definitely resonated with me. I'm back on this site after so long, and I really really liked reading this!♡

[Robert Trakofler]

Hi Moon:) nice to see you! Thank you so much I rarely write free verse but this one just came out one morning:)

[Dreamer Sima]

The kind of silence you are talking about, that's very sad. But sometimes silence is very contagious, you know. Even sometimes I prefer to be mum even with myself.... But looking back at your contacts and getting no response from them is really painful. I hope you are doing just fine..

[The Ink Chapters]

So many of my friends have disappeared from my life over time. I always think though that people are only meant for specific times in your life. And they serve a wonderful purpose in the moments you have with them. And then you grow and go separate ways, never to speak again but always to hold fond memories in your heart for them.

[Robert Trakofler]

so very true the fun thing is when you come across one of those old connections and it is as if not a day has passed since you last saw them

[Tate Morgan]

memories of happier days. Its hard to let go of the ones who made them with us. I too know this from life long friends i seldom hear from. Personally I rekindled a few and nurtured them back to health May you do the same.

[Robert Trakofler]

alas so many of them are out of my networks connectivity these days

[Crowley]

Heavy sigh...yeah, me too. Not sure that there is anything to do about it but embrace the contacts we have left. Sad and true, great writing BB.

[Robert Trakofler]

Hello mr Crowley:) I’m glad you read this cause this one reminds me a bit like a Crowley poem:/ I must of been channeling you when I wrote this:/

[Patricia]

I know this feeling and I’m ok with it, if you have the Lord you will know eternal love and that gives me comfort. Very personal and beautiful poem

[Eilis]

This made me think of both a literal and a more spiritual sense of loss. Like seeing ourselves slip away, in a sense, as the connections we have cultivated over time slip through our fingers. It’s funny, with the prevalence of cellphones and the internet and all those mean for instant connection, I feel I have become more distant from my long-term contacts rather than closer. I’m not sure if that’s just me, but it does seem easy as time passes to get so caught up in the pace and exuberance of the digital world and lose connections in the real one.

I recall another poem you wrote about epitaphs. I can’t remember the name now, but this did make me think of how we might be remembered and if that is as important as how we remember ourselves. Not sure if that makes sense, but I’ll leave it for you to ponder. Hope you are well, BB. Nice to read your poetry.

[Robert Trakofler]

I was so thinking about that poem at the end of this writing... it was not my intention when I started this poem it just kind of pulled me that way:/ it all started when I was looking thru my contact list to find someone and I kept passing by numbers of people that have passed:/ and the free flow just kind of crept out:)

[Robert Trakofler]

Oh yeah, hi Eilis LOL I'm still here just not every day:)

[DIVYA]

As I read your words here, dear Bunny, I was reminded of what my mother always says..."There are more dead than alive now." Most of her friends, cousins and family have passed and she finds the world strange and herself so lonely. Your words are so sad and yet so beautiful. We grieve for others and then some day others will grieve for us and thus goes on this cycle of pain and grief. The earthly season is so truly brief. Loved this poem absolutely!

[Annette Pisano-Higley]

"I know I’m closer to god
Because so many of my phone contacts
Are gone now"
I was just thinking about this very thing dear Robert. Scary when one's place in the queue seems to be gaining. Haven't heard, afraid to call, don't want to count. I don't have a land line in Florida and it was kind of hard letting go of the 'security' of one. Covid is teaching us to let go..every day...and we are not ready for it. Your lines -and brevity- exactly mimic the profundity of these thoughts when they come. They take one's breath away. Tears well up in the pauses between lines. Your poignant and touching poem reached deep inside my heart. Serendipity I guess. Stay well my friend and no matter the connection used-stay in touch!!:))

[Patricia Wedel]

dearest Robert... there are "People whisperers...
perhaps there are Ghost whisperers. gently, Pat

[Robert Trakofler]

giant smile:) I think all poets are ghost whisperers my dear sister and you are also a bird whisperer too:)

[Patricia Wedel]

How charming is that... dear Brother... a Bird whisperer... you have fluffed my feathers... tenderly, Pat