Again Later

The person you are trying

is not accepting. Is not

at this time. Please

again. The person

you are trying is not

in service. Please check

that you have. This

is your call. Your

person is not accepting.

Your person is this

number. You have

not correctly. Your person

is a recording. Again later

at this time. Not accepting.

Credit

Copyright © 2020 by Martha Collins. Originally published in Poem-a-Day on May 12, 2020 by the Academy of American Poets.

About this Poem

“‘Again Later’ was written some time after I had completed Because What Else Can I Do, a sequence of poems I addressed to my husband following his sudden and shocking death. One day, scrolling through my contacts, I came upon his name and phone numbers—his cell and his landline—and called them. The poem is a collage of what I heard.”
Martha Collins