Ode to Being Placed on Hold

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phone

 

Ode to Being Placed on Hold

The music rarely
entertains,
but I find
peace between
the notes,
sometimes,
and embrace
the notion that
I’ve been inserted
in that peculiar
capsule between
speech and the
void, imagining
myself somewhere,
floating, free
of care and
gravity,
beer can
satellites
orbiting my head,
with bites of
pungent cheeses
and baguette
circling in
their wake,
a gift, you see,
like rain in
August or
a warm voice
saying hello.

“Ode to Being Placed on Hold” was written during the Tupelo Press 30-30 marathon in August 2015. Many thanks to Mary “marso” of the blog “marsowords” who sponsored and provided the title. The poem also appeared here in March 2016.

cheese

48 thoughts on “Ode to Being Placed on Hold”

  3. I was going, “oh, this is really nice and floaty” until I reached the beer can satellites. I forget that that there’s the option of provisional multi-tasking while waiting for customer service! I will keep this in mind 😂

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  7. Classic! I could see this one appearing in a whole collection among such titles as, “Ode to Waiting in Line at the DMV,” or “Ode to Prepping for a Colonoscopy”…

    You captured, you commiserated, you conquered — in inspiring Okaji fashion! Your optimism always makes my day a little bit easier.

    Liked by 1 person

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          • But as you well know, a REAL education rids us of ignorance, not adds certainty. There are things we can know, but the edges of such knowledge are permeable borders (parerga): certainty is an evolutionary process. Any genius or idiot can can say “I don’t know…”, BUT… the truth of their statement lies in the work(s) engendered by certainty or doubt. So you can say whatever you want about muddling, but in your case I could/can make empirical claims about your excellence.

            People forget that I have a PhD in Anthropology, even though my degrees say Ethno-Music-ology… a branch of Anthropology. The “Ethno” gives it away. I can “ethno” you scientifically and empirically claim excellence! 🙂

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  17. Pingback: Ode to Being Placed on Hold – Recycled: Found Narratives of Everyday Life

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