Poetry by Kelly Beller
Antibellum
I do not like the telephone
a connection too absurd
I'm ME! I'm real, I'm flesh and blood
and not a compressed word
And you have no extension cord
no numbered, lettered dial
All I get from calls I make
are phony Cheshire smiles.
So no more silly party lines
I will not ring at all
until you ask me in again.
And then, I'll come to call.
Kelly Beller
12/2/73