​POETRY  -  
          With a Theme of Work 

Thank you for calling    -    Photo by Weebly.com                                    

It Started With Your Voice
by Vivian Imperiale

​​“Thank you for calling . . .”
 
That was my professional greeting.
I said it over and over again
throughout the business day.
You were one of many people
who phoned to talk to my co-workers,
but there was not yet voicemail
so all callers spoke with me first:
rushed voices, timid voices, gruff voices,
one after the other, hour after hour.
Bur your voice was different--
each time it pulled me to you
and made me wonder,
“Who is that man?”
 
Everyone was in a hurry
needing to get on with business.
Except for you.
You took the time to ask my name
and always asked how I was,
although we had never met.
I loved hearing your
I-could-tell-over-the-phone-you-were-smiling voice.
In a day of endless business calls,
it warmed me
to have those brief moments.
 
One day the office manager came to me
and said, “I hired Richard.”
My heart skipped a beat.
I finally met you
and learned firsthand
that not only did you
have a beautiful voice,
but you had a beautiful soul.
 
Soon it was clear--
first to us
and then to everyone--
we loved one another.
Two voices joined
in laughter and kindness,
filling an emptiness
we hadn’t known was there.
 
Thank you for calling.

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​Since age six, Vivian Imperiale has been writing poetry to identify and process her emotions about the world around her. She soon learned that her poems could be meaningful to others. A friend touched her with these words, "You gave me words for an emotion I didn't even know I needed to express."

Other pieces in this Issue:  
Poetry:
Your Mother Came to Visit

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