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