May I fondle your chest? – foto Smith
Soaking in hot bath mind drifting dazed when cell fone rangle ring rends rest and reverie so say hello to a marvelously chipper young woman who happily says she is my own personal customer representative from Verizon Wireless and she’s just checking in to make sure I’m happy with their service.
“Yes ma’am I am” I reply, then wait for her sales pitch, because I’ve lived enough to know corporations don’t pay employees to call me to see if I’m happy; . . . no, these ‘courtesy’ calls are Trojan horses hiding their schemes for more of my money.
“Is your battery okay?” She chirps.
“Battery’s fine,” I smile into the fone, wondering if perhaps they’ve an exploding battery problem I should know about since I’m lying naked in a tub of water.
“How about your reception?” she trills.
“Reception’s okay,” I say, awaiting her segue to sales.
“Well, I’m here to make sure you’re satisfied, and it seems you are . . and looking over your account I see everything is in order . . .” slight puzzled pause “. . . but . . .” another pause “. . . I do see you’re eligible for an upgrade.” She brightens. “Would you like me to help you with that?”
I have a dumb fone — no camera even. The oldest worst fone they could offer would be a major upgrade, but I don’t like to talk on fones to begin with, or much off fones for that matter. 99% of the time I pick up my fone it’s to see what time it is.
“No,” I laugh, “but you might want to call my wife who has one of your Borg things she uses for work,” and return to my swamp water and warm limbic brain, wondering how to keep these outer world people out of my inner world bath time.
Brain Dance
In times of crossing
the motley wake, withdraw
Attending birth oldest force
however stained
Breath as passage is passage pink
falling leave
Put down fragile, the why awaiting
therefore I
That although the passage slow
the life a lie
To wit await the passing gate
eye and I
Covered wing, mean of man
need cleaning
— Smith, 2004
Wake up and dream – foto Smith
