And the operator said, “May I help you please?”

National Geographic Magazine (1948)

I waited all night, I remember that
smoked a cigarette
watched TV
went out and saw some friends
drove by your house
went to a bar and had a beer
got back home and tried to sleep…

— J.S.

I knocked the phone off the nightstand
And the operator said, “May I help you please?”
and I said “No thanks, baby tonight there ain’t no help for me —
see I just had a bad dream, that’s all that’s wrong with me
see I just had a bad dream.”

Crying In My Sleep

3 thoughts on “And the operator said, “May I help you please?”

    1. Given my penchant for irony it was difficult for me to make art out of my own college break up. I assuredly felt the kind of universal longing that you allude to. It was, as you so poetically portray it, my restless dream. I’m reminded, of course, of Nick’s monologue at the end of “The Great Gatsby” (“I thought of Gatsby’s wonder when he first picked out the green light at the end of Daisy’s dock”). What Hath Marcy Wrought?

      Liked by 1 person

      1. Really painful memories can be the most difficult to make art with – still too tender – I find I have to seek a “side door” into them when I try to go.

        I need to learn morse code so I can answer…I think that sculpture needs some sort of receiving mechanism so we know if we ever get a response…:D

        Liked by 1 person

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