Poem
— for Frank O'Hara

Stop cellphoning while you drive!
I was toddling along and suddenly
at the corner of Denny and MLK a white
SUV pulled out right in front of me.
You said she stopped first but she
didn’t I was watching or if she did
it was a California and anyway
what a screech as I hit the brakes
hard. Who could she be meeting
in such a hurry that the laws
of traffic were like the sky?
I lower my window to give her
my best New Jersey salute and suddenly
I see the reason she has nearly killed us.
STOP CELLPHONING WHILE YOU DRIVE!
There is no cell phone in my car.
There is not even a CD player.
I have been on-call for weeks at a time
and needed to return plenty of pages
but I have never actually
cellphoned while I drive.
Dear caller we love you please hang up.