Saturday, November 17, 2012

TEMPUS FUGIT FIERCELY



First there was storm
Darkness then flight
 A week of light and friendship
Time changed twice, and
 another week has past in a blur of activity:
resupplying the larder
 "Brevitas Festival of the Short Poem"
at Poets House on the Hudson river
Emma Donoghue reading from
"Astray"
Laundry, cooking, cleaning. and many hours working at readying three garden spaces for winter. 
Things must be edging back to nominal normal.
I'm getting plenty of spam since the Internet has reset itself, my robot messages on the land line have resumed offering me opportunities to reduce my interest payments, despite that I have no credit cards, car or property, and Verizon is asking me to call them to complete certification for my income based reduced cost life-line service which has been in place for at least two decades.  No one remembers me.  I'm a cipher, a form that needs completion, a name on a list with a number next to it.
And all those robot workers out there are ciphers too.
It takes powerful patience and a bit of luck to get through to a
real human being these days.
When I was 6, my mom and dad went out dancing for new years eve, leaving me in the care of an old aunt who slept soundly.
I was allowed to sleep in their big bed for comfort.  I woke at one point, achingly lonely.  Snow was falling.
The world seemed  too terribly still.
I picked up the telephone, and an operator answered.
I told her I was afraid.  She talked to me for a long time, ascertained I was not really abandoned, and then sang
teaching me the words till I sang with her.  Once I was calm and reassured, she told me I could call her back if I got scared again, that she would be there for me. I fell asleep.
Now I'm leaving once again by train.
Time is gentler with rail travel.
Meanwhile "Eve" waits....

patiently.



6 comments:

deanna7trees said...

you really are on the move these days. those robocalls have stopped here since the election is over and also since i never pick up the phone when i receive one. if i don't recognize the number on caller id, i don't pick up. they eventually stop calling. it was 31 degrees here this morning...too cold for gardening today.

Mo Crow said...

Eve is patient but I want to see more !

Nancy said...

Such a lovely post. You've been quite busy with a full life! Your childhood story is so touching, loved reading about little you!

grace Forrest~Maestas said...

love these tours of your space
and leaving again??????

Ms. said...

I'll be off computer at midnight tonight till the 28th and a last post is scheduled to drop in tomorrow morning. Happy giving thanks to all.

Anonymous said...

weird about being 'reset' with the robo-calls... it must feel alienating and beyond-annoying. the story about the operator really made me appreciate what a different world we live in. thank you for sharing. It reads like the nub of a short story. Remember party lines? And having to pick up and make sure no one else was using the phone before making a call?!!