(How the poet came to be in the danger of losing her only online device referred to in today’s post “This Heart Hurts”)
*****
Dear Major Cell Carrier:
I have been your customer
For five and one half months
Not one of those months has been free
Of extra charges dreamed up by you
Sometimes in the triple digits
From this less than thousand dollar income
I have taken this painful body
By bus
To your office
In another city
A whole handful of times
Have spent
Feel me
Hours
On the phone
Listening to a lot of spaghetti talk
About fees for this
Fees for that
Cycles…
(Oh, not the billing cycle, dear
Nor the service cycle
Notification or
Random bullshit cycle, but
The payment cycle
Specifically…)
None of this old fashioned
Monthly contract on first of month
Leading to monthly billing
(Of contracted amount)
On — surprise! —
First of month
And paid on or right after
First of month
(Oh, dear, no
That would be the
Calendar cycle
Has nothing to do with
What we do
To you)
I’ve learned not to let you give me any
Customer considerations
Guess that’s a tacit admission of error
Where none in fact existed
Except your endlessly repeated own
(Only have two of those coming to me
Annually)
And
Each
Time
On
Every
Single
Visit and
Phone call
I’ve been informed
My bill is up to date
I owe you no further money
Collection has been realistically
Resituated in my month
Why
Am I calling you
Yet again
On Monday?
About
Yet another
Seventy dollar charge
Appearing out of the mist?
How do you think
I feel about you right now?
How would you feel
If you were me?
How close am I
Right this minute
To completely
Righteous
Highly
Controlled
And penultimately
Coherant
Outrage?
How ripe is our public
Right now
For constructive action
Based
On outrage?
How good am I
At getting the word to
Two
Count ’em
Thousand
Highly literate
Subscribers
Tomorrow
Morning
Just
For
Beginners?
How many others
Are already feeling
Just like myself?…
Why don’t you review
My actual record of
Perfect
In fact, highly permissive
Montly payment
And send me
Very soon
Another one of your
Ubiquitous automated emails
Assuring me
For once
That I am what I am
All
Paid
Up
*****
Timeless Classics 