Writing and Photography by Jeff E. Brown

Back when people let the phone ring and ring. No voicemail. Nothing beyond the hope that someone would pick up. You’d talk, ashamed of the time that had slipped by, as it always does. Slipping until it stops.

Family matters and friendships gone stale.
Maybe you can call and mend it over the wire? Maybe the words will come, somehow connecting you, despite the miles?

You can’t count on much, it’s true. People will hold onto whatever they have to: grudges and misplaced devotion. Even the slow, beating heartbreak of unreturned affections.

So pick up, won’t you please? I’ve got so many things to say. I’m near the finish and there’s dark tithings I must share. Words that sting that I’ll try my best to soften. But you know that ring doesn’t always end well.

© 2022 Jeff E. Brown. All rights reserved.