“BEFORE CELL PHONES, WAITING FOR A CALL IN UNIVERSITY RESIDENCE” by Alice G. Waldert
Poetry Pause is the League of Canadian Poets’ daily poetry dispatch. Read “BEFORE CELL PHONES, WAITING FOR A CALL IN UNIVERSITY RESIDENCE” by Alice G. Waldert, part of the League’s Fresh Voices program.
BEFORE CELL PHONES, WAITING FOR A CALL IN UNIVERSITY RESIDENCE
By Alice G. Waldert
The telephone receiver rests
silent in its cradle
it only rings for others.
Mothers and fathers askโCan I speak toโฆ
anyone but me, and on weekends
when students go home,
it doesnโt ring at all.
I called home the first day
when I arrived at my residence,
and while other parents carried
their childโs bags and furniture
to their rooms, I held the receiver
close to my ear and recited
my number to my father.
As weeks went by, I let it ring
until my resistance wavered.
After three months, I never answered.
The ring sounded shrill and unwelcome.
Late November, my roommate says
Itโs for you Alice. I squint at her face
in disbelief.
I hear a familiar voice sayโ
Hello Alice, itโs Ida, how are you?
Your stepmother told me
you live in the same city as me.
Please come for dinner.
When I arrive at her door
her bright eyes and hug
are like a gust of warm air
on a cold day. She whispers in my earโ
It’s so wonderful that you are here.
Copyright ยฉ Alice G. Waldert
Alice G. Waldert is a poet and short story writer, her most recently published works have appeared in Nixes Mate, Canthius Magazine, the Rockvale Review, and The Marbled Sigh. She is working on a collection of poems about her experiences from growing up in Canada with parents who were war survivors. Alice holds an M.A. from Carleton University in Canadian Studies and an MFA in writing from Manhattanville University. She is about to complete a three-year diploma at the Ottawa School of Art for the purpose of creating paintings that reflect her poetry, and the human will to find light in dark times.
Fresh Voices is a publication and workshop program created by and for the League’s associate members, curated and edited by Erin Vance.
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