Poem: “A Dropped Call?”
A Dropped Call?
Never one to jump to conclusions
I’m always willing to give a person the benefit of the doubt
Maybe they accidentally hung up
Perhaps their finger accidentally brushed up against the wrong button…
Yeah, that’s probably what happened
I’ll try again
Ring…ring…ring
Answering machine
Well damn, I know I’m not lunchin’
I just heard them answer the phone a minute ago when I called
I’ll try one more time
Ring…answering machine
Doesn’t get any clearer than that, oh well.
Wonder what’s for chow tonight?
Only if it were actually that simple
That would be great
But in reality, the rest of my day is defined by a storm of confusion
All of my doubts, fears and anxieties whirling around in my head
Like tree branches and back yard garbage cans in a hurricane
That big, bluish-black monster named Depression
Begins to creep and stalk me like a vulture in the desert
I’m fully aware of his big ugly presence
He’s as cold as ice
And the closer he gets, the more depleted I feel
I try to fight him, but I’m totally disarmed
And he continues to consume me whole, slowly but surely
All of a sudden, I feel exhausted and I have to lay down to sleep
I awake in the calm of my storm
Rain letting up, clouds clearing out, and the sun shining through
I bounce back
Because I have to
Never will I lose sight of the primary objective
Make it home in one piece with a sound mind
I will soldier through any and every situation prison throws at me
And come out of here better than I came in
I just can’t help but wonder
Was it a dropped call?
Then again, I know better
15 Comments
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The poets featured here are currently incarcerated, and many of them are in federal prisons far from home. Your feedback is a valuable source of motivation and connection to the outside community. Post your comments, feedback, and encouragement in the space below the poem. Messages will be passed on directly to the author. Comments may not appear immediately on the site, as our team processes them to mail to the poets.
Awesome! This is really powerful, and I love how you capture this moment so well that we feel the pain of standing there, trapped in prison, knowing that someone on the other end doesn’t want to talk to you. Great work!
your prose rings true!
Dear Free Minds Poet:
This image captures the feelings perfectly:
“All of my doubts, fears and anxieties whirling around in my head
Like tree branches and back yard garbage cans in a hurricane”
And then it builds with the vulture stalking you, disarming you. But then you portray your own inner strength just as perfectly:
“I awake in the calm of my storm
Rain letting up, clouds clearing out, and the sun shining through.”
You are never completely disarmed and you will indeed make it home a stronger and wiser person. Even if that other person isn’t ready to talk, you will survive and you’ll be ready when they are. Just hold on to that inner calm, that inner strength and power. Don’t let that dropped call have more power over than you do!
Thank you so much for this poem. I could feel the emotions that you express so viscerally. Please keep writing and know that there are many of us on the outside who are thinking of you and cheering you on. Great work!
Wow! This is gut wrenching and honest.
Stay strong!
I am impressed with how vividly you describe your feelings, reaction, psychological state. Please know that you are not alone in your feelings, these are places we all have been, though I am sure being imprisoned magnifies them. Stay strong and stay true to your writing, it’s very impressive!
Yeah its good to accept the truth but everything is not as they may seem.
Keep your head up. Make it through this experience better than you went in, so you can tell kids that jail doesn’t make you any cooler, and it’s a waste of your time and a waste of your life.
-Teen Boys at Denney Juvenile Justice Center Poetry Workshop
Thank you for sharing this! I completely understand that inescapable feeling of anxiety that seems to stalk us like the monster you describe. I hope that you are able to find peace in the midst of the stress and sadness. There is so much joy to be found in life. Keep writing; we hear you!
KC
I enjoyed this poem. I hope that what transpired in it (the not picking up) hasn’t happen to you often. However, it sounds like you will make it through regardless of the situation. I hope that you continue to write poetry and I wish you the best.
God bless,
Johnny
Wow. I’m truly in love with this poem.
You have such a strong voice that really comes through in this piece. I love how we can see your stream of consciousness in this poem, especially in the lines:
“Maybe they accidentally hung up / Perhaps their finger accidentally brushed up against the wrong button… / Yeah, that’s probably what happened / I’ll try again”
That sounds exactly like the inside of someone’s head when figuring out what’s happening in this scenario. I love it 🙂
This line was especially great: “But in reality, the rest of my day is defined by a storm of confusion” and I really like how you then talk about the “bluish-black monster named Depression”. I think this is a lovely way to describe what depression feels like because it’s so raw and honest.
These lines in particular really stood out to me: “I bounce back / Because I have to” because sometimes that’s all we can do. We get back up and we wake back up to start another day, not because we want to, but because we need to, no matter how hard things are.
I love the optimism that you bring in with the last couple of lines. It’s a refreshing breath of hope that you eloquently breathe into the ending after your descriptions of your depression and your struggles in prison.
I love how you circle back to the dropped call at the end because we come back to where we started in this poem. The last line is so killer. You did such a great job with this. 🙂
Best,
A
Wow. I’m truly in love with this poem.
You have such a strong voice that really comes through in this piece. I love how we can see your stream of consciousness in this poem, especially in the lines:
“Maybe they accidentally hung up / Perhaps their finger accidentally brushed up against the wrong button… / Yeah, that’s probably what happened / I’ll try again”
That sounds exactly like the inside of someone’s head when figuring out what’s happening in this scenario. I love it 🙂
This line was especially great: “But in reality, the rest of my day is defined by a storm of confusion” and I really like how you then talk about the “bluish-black monster named Depression”. I think this is a lovely way to describe what depression feels like because it’s so raw and honest.
These lines in particular really stood out to me: “I bounce back / Because I have to” because sometimes that’s all we can do. We get back up and we wake back up to start another day, not because we want to, but because we need to, no matter how hard things are.
I love the optimism that you bring in with the last couple of lines. It’s a refreshing breath of hope that you eloquently breathe into the ending after your descriptions of your depression and your struggles in prison.
I love how you circle back to the dropped call at the end because we come back to where we started in this poem. The last line is so killer. You did such a great job with this. 🙂
Best,
A
Wow. I’m truly in love with this poem.
You have such a strong voice that really comes through in this piece. I love how we can see your stream of consciousness in this poem, especially in the lines:
“Maybe they accidentally hung up / Perhaps their finger accidentally brushed up against the wrong button… / Yeah, that’s probably what happened / I’ll try again”
That sounds exactly like the inside of someone’s head when figuring out what’s happening in this scenario. I love it 🙂
This line was especially great: “But in reality, the rest of my day is defined by a storm of confusion” and I really like how you then talk about the “bluish-black monster named Depression”. I think this is a lovely way to describe what depression feels like because it’s so raw and honest.
These lines in particular really stood out to me: “I bounce back / Because I have to” because sometimes that’s all we can do. We get back up and we wake back up to start another day, not because we want to, but because we need to, no matter how hard things are.
I love the optimism that you bring in with the last couple of lines. It’s a refreshing breath of hope that you eloquently breath into the ending after your descriptions of your depression and your struggles in prison.
I love how you circle back to the dropped call at the end because we seem to go full circle and we come back to where we started in this poem. The last line is so killer. You did such a great job with this. 🙂
Best,
A
This has been all of us at some point, and I love how well you captured this feeling!! Our thoughts often times get the best of us, and leave us feeling more confused and sad than ever before. Excellent work with this poem! Everything was just perfect!!
This was a great poem, both in terms of its content as well as its message. Utilizing the phone as the object of study was an interesting way to make your point across. As a reader, I was breathless reading the poem, wondering whether you would pick up the phone or not. I also felt extremely emotional as well; I hope this is fiction and not the truth. Keep up the writing!