Thursday, August 18, 2022


The Breather 

Just as in the horror movies 
when someone discovers that the phone calls 
are coming from inside the house 

so too, I realized  
that our tender overlapping 
has been taking place only inside me. 

All that sweetness, the love and desire— 
it’s just been me dialing myself 
then following the ringing to another room 

to find no one on the line, 
well, sometimes a little breathing 
but more often than not, nothing. 

To think that all this time— 
which would include the boat rides, 
the airport embraces, and all the drinks— 

it’s been only me and the two telephones, 
the one on the wall in the kitchen 
and the extension in the darkened guest room upstairs.

Billy Collins