dad's house

2000s handset on your ear

corkscrew Ashkenazi eyebrows leaping

and that cheek-slicing smile

this is how you always answered the door

your spider limbs would beckon

“oh come in! i just need to wrap up this very important phone call!!!” 

with

grandpa

(estranged)

or your law firm partner 

(you dropped out of law school)

or one of your clients

(Carlos Santana, most likely)

or one of your many buddies on The Hill

(maybe your old friend Hillary, calling to seek political counsel)

with the effort of rearranging bulky furniture

i'd wrestle my facial features into

"wow! what a delightful (yet poignant!) repartee you're having!"

"i am full of belief and respect!"

and mid-threshold

body blurred and bracing

my ear would find it:

the Bob Dylan twanging and

the dial tone, wailing