by Richard Felson
Shells in the Egg Salad
I grew up naively,
not knowing egg salad’s
Supposed to be,
shell-free.
To my dismay
When I went away,
Found out this was not ok.
When you’d come for lunch
Eggs would have that crunch.
You’d have to be careful
You’d eat at your own peril
Shells in the egg salad.
Telephone Interruptus Blues
I called up my mama.
to catch up with what’s going on
We had a conversation.
It didn’t last too long
We talked about the relatives,
and people that we’d known
But before I could say goodbye.
Mama hung up the phone.
The next week I called again.
I had important things to say.
First, I made some small talk.
I asked about her day.
We talked about the weather
And how the kids had grown.
But before I got to the reason I called
Mama hung up the phone.
Why doesn’t she say goodbye.
Just a grunt or groan.
I’m feelin forsaken
when I hear that dial tone.
I never get to finish thoughts
I never can go on.
If I pause for just a second.
Mama’s hung up the phone.
Most phone conversations
End predictably
If you have something more to say
You have an opportunity
But I know when I call my Mom
from another time zone.
I better talk quickly
Before she hangs up the phone.
The Felson Family 