The Story of a Man Without a Cell Phone

I left home without my cell phone.
There was a pay phone outside the grocery, but it did not work.
As if I had been magically time-transported to a distant past,
I found I could speak only to those within voice-range.
I thought of a prof. at a college I attended,
who took pride in never using a microphone:
he bellowed, instead.

I did not want to bellow.

At the service counter, they listened to my sad tale--
the story of a man without a cell phone--
and turned a desk phone my way, saying to press 9.
Mari, at home, was outside with Jao and without a phone,
so no one answered, even after five tries.

I wanted to bellow.

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