Gloria ...

... a moment in [endless] time

An elderly woman called today ... ‘Gloria?’

‘Sorry, wrong number’

Was she alone, lonely, trying to pass the time

Was she feeling ill needing help

Was she happy looking to share; looking to chat;

Searching for distraction in an endless life that wanes thin

I become lost in her voice;

Lost in her unknown quest

Tears well, emotions implode

Heart flutters with dreadful shame

Why?

I only hear desperation 

I only feel pity

I’ll never understand the feelings of the unknown 

An unknown unknowable 

Reviews

[barleygirl]

What I see in this poem is a narrator who fervently wants to believe that it's the person on the other end of the line who possesses these sad sorry character traits, as if the narrator puts herself above the caller. Surely it couldn't be that her suppositions in this poem are a reflection of her own inner life! I've had people look at my solitary life in the wilderness & transfer their own expectations upon me, as if I must be miserably lonely out here in the boondocks, becuz that's how this other person would feel. Your poem is a compelling study of the human tendency for "transference"! (((HUGS))) Fondly, Margie

[Michelle Lauren]

This was a poem that was based on actual events with a women calling me every few months over a period of a year plus. Over time she started to seep into my thoughts and the psychologist in me went to work. If she had call once I would have hung up and never thought of it again. I got more and more from her tone and accentuations of her diction with ever call .... I started doing this years ago as I did with ‘I Believe’ and when I found them recently I just had to finish them .... thx for the insight and review ... much appreciated XO

[barleygirl]

Putting "wrong number" right off the bat is what makes the reader tend to see this as a one-off conversation. Of course if you've heard someone bellyache for a year, you've sized them up just fine.

[Michelle Lauren]

.... not ‘bellyaching’, to me she sounded sad, lost, broken .... oh wait, that’s me 🙃 XO

[Michelle Lauren]

.... I must have sounded a somewhat like Gloria because it was always a question if I was her .... in hindsight I wish I had said ‘hi hun, how are you’ .... maybe she would have participated and divulged some useful info 🧐 XO

[barleygirl]

Especially in my early days of being disabled, I would befriend other people MORE disabled than me, which kinda made me feel less disabled -- ridiculous to compare, I know, but we humans do the weirdest stuff!

[Chris]

Do you hear your self in the voices that pause in accident or even on purpose? Chances to interact are less and less anymore. Fear carries over into the everyday 'til it impacts how we deal with even our selves. We are social beings and need social interactions - even if just a sense of nearness and a sharing of experience. Few deal well with the total loneliness of today's existence. It was bad enough before BUT we could go to a store, movie, mall, even sometimes a restaurant and not feel as alone and now we can't.