How Are You Today?
It is 5 o’clock
and the telephone rings
waking me from my slumber.
Should I answer, I wonder.
It may be a wrong number
like it happened last time
but it could be an emergency
and the insistent trilling
implies the utmost urgency.
My lips find the energy
to slur an hello.
Is that Mr….? I’m asked
and I say that I am.
“How are you today, Sir?”,
a faraway voice inquires
with a tone that’s oleaginous.
It is a cold call, one of those
that get up my nose
and I blow my top;
I’m too polite to tell them
to eff off and that’s why
I suggest that they should
go forth and multiply.
© Luigi Pagano 2018
© ionicus 2023
Views: 2001
We can all relate to this, to many times we have those sort of calls, good work
Thanks for reading and commenting. Much appreciated.
Hi Luigi,
it is good to see you writing once again.I don,t get much chance these days. I like the poem.Yes I have had those calls too, .My usual reply is to tell them to speak i n German or French, as I am not very good at English.They always hang up on me..I feel like you to tell them to go forth and multiply.Tank you for sharing,
Peter
That’s a good trick, Peter. I shall adopt that technique and speak to them in Italian.
Nice to hear from you after all this time.
Best, Luigi
it has happened to me a few times, the last time i had just received a call from mother telling me my father has died “probably” and i should come as soon as possible. i thought it was mother again who wanted to tell me something, there was a brief hopeful moment it would be her telling me that father was still alive. i think i may have a poem here. it was a salesperson i said yes i want to change phone company, because nothing mattered anymore, i said yes many times she was thrilled, probably the easiest deal… Read more »
Many of the calls I receive are nuisance calls or scams. The most frequent are the ones that tell me that my computer has been hacked and urge me to sign on and follow their instructions to remedy the situation. When asked who they are, they give the name of a bogus company that is not my service provider . Others inform me that I am entitled to compensation for a car incident but I don’t even try. Fortunately I now recognise some of the callers’ telephone numbers and can block them.