Penny Wheatley
Transatlantic Telephone Call
"Listen!" he says
From across the Atlantic.
"Listen! - there's something I want you to hear . . ."
I press the 'phone still closer
To my ear.
I hear the sound of water -
Waves dashing - ?
I see their spray scattering, like diamonds
In the Californian sun -
He must be surfing - ?
But then, through the roll and surge,
I hear another rhythm sounding
Urgent, rapid . . .
It shivers my body in recognition.
Its wave
Breaks over my face in laughter.
"It's state of the art" he adds,
"An amazing machine . . .
"Oh yes, it's 'live', happening
"This very moment as we speak"
('This very moment . . . ' come at last,
Like a desert flower.)
"And on the screen we see him kicking.
"Now he's wiping
"His weird reptilian eye
"With his tiny hand
"And they say
"He's fully five centimetres tall!"
Page(s) 25
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