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It was just an ordinary day
at work
His head, buried in files,
sought some respite.
There was a presentation
that lurked in the laptop
and another one that needed
to be chopped.
The boss was expected at any time
He knew he had to
toe the official line.
The devoted junior
was already in awe,
of how he could work
round the clock!
With sundry other tasks
lined up for the day
he first decided to look up some dealers
right away.
Then he glanced at his helper
who quickly whisked off,
And returned a minute later
with tea and Bizcochito.
Just as the confab proceeded
with full gravitas,
his mobile screen lit up
with a phone call.
Peering into the mobile
from the corner of his eye,
he knew, unless it seemed urgent
he wouldn’t comply.
The phone went vzzzzt
shouting for its owner,
who decided to adjourn
that call for the moment.
The screen went black
but it lit up again,
making him sigh
in sheer disdain.
He dragged the button
with a sombre expression,
“Is it urgent?”
“Can I call you back, brother?”
he asked in quick succession.
“Yes, of course,” a buoyant spirit
beamed at the other end,
“I just wanted to say hello
to my dear friend!”
They hung up the phone
and he got back to work,
making a mental note
to return the call later.
The day passed soon
mired down by work alone,
he finally slouched on the couch
with half an evening already gone.
Scotch was the way to unwind
and catching up
with a half-read book
was already in the pipeline.
Music, food and news
A business mail or two,
which reminded him
of the phone call that was long overdue.
The clock was ticking
at twenty past eight,
which meant it wasn’t
really that late.
He would call after dinner
when he would be a little free,
and talk at leisure
without feeling guilty.
And then, all of a sudden,
as if by chance,
he recalled some arrangements
that needed to be made fast!
So, he left an order
for tomorrow’s grocery,
and also mailed a complaint
to the department of electricity.
He asked the house-help
to get the faucet fixed,
and pick up a parcel
lying at store eighty-six.
Finally, he sat down to have his meal
Of soup with cauliflower cheese,
With the deferred phone call, thought of,
no more than batting the breeze!
And then he doused the fire
and turned off the lights,
Slid under the sheets
It was rather late, in the night.
The phone call, by the way,
was at the back of his mind
He would make sure
to ring up tomorrow at nine.
Before he knew
he was fast asleep,
Worn out and sapped
no game for dreams.
The alarm beeped sooner
than he had thought,
and he scrabbled in the dark
to get his hands on the clock.
But to his surprise
it sat silently,
which made him think
what rang blatantly?
With his eyes now wide-open
he was sure it was the mobile,
as he caught in the dark
its shining bright light.
Reaching out, to pick it up
he wondered who could it be,
calling at an untimely hour
it was hardly three!
The caller at the other end
didn’t wait for him to greet,
and woefully lamented
a fallen friend, now at peace.
They soon got disconnected
his blood ran cold,
As he remembered a friendship,
Oh! So old.
And today, he rues the night
When he had delayed the tardy phone call,
Albeit he had been running late
but not late enough, after all!
-Sonia Dogra
(All rights reserved)
I’m numb after reading this thought provoking post. After losing Pa, one message that I always convey to everyone is to make memories today rather than regretting tomorrow. In the hustle bustle of our lives, we often miss many little moments and when we realise, sometimes it’s too late. Loved reading it, Sonia.
Thank you Vartika. Precisely the point while penning this down.
A very gripping writeup, thanks for sharing such a wonderful post! 😊
Thank you for reading!💐💐
Oh, no! I was so afraid he wasn’t going to call his friend–and now he’ll never get that chance. I’ll bet this poem hits home with a lot of people.
I think so too Liz. Most of us miss out on that one phone call.
At times we forget what we have which we will later remember as memories.
True Pubali. Thanks so much!
What do I say? To a post so eloquently told through verse?? Lovely play of words Sonia. The words played out the entire scene like an episode in my mind.
I wish he had answered that phone……
I wish we too stop putting off things only to regret later!!
Yes Radhika. I wish we would take out time for little things in life. Thanks so much!💐💐