april 15 . a poem for my mom, the day after her 26th anniversary. she says this is what marriage is like.

every time i try to call my mother
she is experiencing another
communications difficulty:
her cell phone is off,
or her portable phone isn't charged, or
like today,
at&t has failed her again
with a broken line,
so it rings once and then 
sounds to me like
she's there,
on the other end,
choosing not to speak;
but really,
we're both talking
to a dead line
and no one
can hear a word.