By Nathan Brown — For Jody Karr
Friday, December 4
Due to an unprecedented number
of calls, we are all still waiting
for a representative, sitting
in a cubicle, somewhere
in the poorly-lit offices
of the Year of 2020
to answer the phone.
And it’s December, folks.
For concerns about COVID-19,
please press 1
For worries about when the movers
are going to arrive at the White House
please press 2
For problems with political partisanship,
you can press 3,
but don’t expect change.
For wishes that the doubters will wise up,
mask up, and do what’s best for others,
go ahead and press 4,
if you think it will help.
For questions about the American
medical system, health insurance,
or lack of resources and support
for its workers, or how to fix it,
5 connects the caller to
a recorded message
from Congress.
For fears about the planet,
plants, animals, endangered
species, climate, food, water,
please press 6…
and keep pressing it.
do not give up.
For when it will be
safe to go outside again
and try to rebuild our lives,
press 7…or 8…or 9…
nobody really knows.
And please do not bother
With zero. It goes nowhere.
To speak to a representative,
please hold on.
really…
Hang in there…
with everything you’ve got…
And the force will be with you, soon.
— Nathan Brown is Poet Laurette of Oklahoma. This poem can be found in his book, In the Day of Our Resilience, Mezcalita Press, 2021 and is printed here with his permission.
