Telephone Poem #1 (For Sam)

“I’m okay,” she sighs

I can hear the lie in

her voice Our conflict

is more space

less distance Over the phone

she’s miles away Or 45 minutes

on the 7 train Inexplicably

all I want is to climb

through the keypad Compact myself into

radio signals dots dashes zeroes and ones

fall into a heap on her bed

So she can sigh

into my ear while I feel her

warm breath

I remain cold

Can I hang up now?

Telephone Booth #57 by Padre Pedro Pietri

if you don’t becomea missing personevery now & thenyou will never knowwho the hell you are!

Telephone Booth Number 301

when I was very youngI used to have many imaginary girlfriendsnow that i am an adultI miss them very much.

Telephone Booth Number 507

I will jump out the windowif thats what it takesto satisfy you sexually,but only if you live in the basement

Telephone Booth Number 898 ½

if you areunable to erase itit means that youhave not written downanything to erase& don't have to fearbeing quoted justwhen you are aboutto contradict whatyou didn't write down

(182)

TELEPHONE BOOTH NUMBER 905

Woke up this morning

feeling excellent!

Picked up the telephone

dialed the number

Of my equal opportunity

employer to inform him

I will not be in

to work today!

Are you feeling sick?

the Boss asked me,

“No Sir” I replied,

I am feeling too good

to report to work today!

If I feel sick tomorrow

I will come in early.

Telephone Booth Number 63765057

there will alwaysbe time to stareacross the roomat a blank wall& wonder have youdone this before--!

Telephone Booth Number 542

the only way i know how to wash dishesis by smashing themagainst the wall!

Telephone Booth Number 32439

if you hit a poet& he doesn't hit you backleave town immediatelytake out life insuranceget a new identityunite with transvestitessleep with unlisted numbers.

Mi abuela

Mi abuelaha estadoen esta tienda por departamentosllamada americapor los ultimos veinticinco años.Ella tiene ochenta y cinco años de edady no habla siquierauna palabra de inglés.Eso es inteligencia.

-Pedro Pietri

A Prayer Backward

whose arms will we have for breakfast

tomorrow morning?& whose legs

will we have for lunchif the afternoon ever comes?& if we are not extinct

by supper timewe can boil our eyeballs& have visionary soup

or maybe the war will end soon

& we will have something else to eat

besides the indigestible after effects on the menu

of a nuclear con fron tation

Friday, April 22, 2005

Love Poem for My People

By Rev. Pedro Pietri

do not letartificial lampsmake strange shadowsout of youdo not dreamif you want your dreamsto come trueyou knew how to singbefore you wasissued a birth certificateturn off the stereothis country gave youit is out of orderyour breathis your promiselandif you wantto feel very richlook at your handsthis is wherethe definition of magicis located at

This poem, written by Pedro Pietri, is what you would call, "Out of the box." Throughought his life, Pietri wrote many poems that were abstract, just as this one is. Because English was his second language, his strange use of grammar added flare to his poetry. This was his last poem before his untimely death in 1994.