Irma and Velma

no, my name is not velma,
but Irma
she says
on the phone.
I can hear a dog barking,
a baby crying.
a man
asking loudly
where his dinner might be.
I like the name
Irma, though
she says, maybe i'll change
my name.
but is there
a velma there,
i ask her, listening
to a dish breaking,
a tv on in the background,
a man asking her
who she's talking to.
get off the phone, he yells
and bring me my
goddamn dinner.
velma, sounds like the name
of someone
i'd like to be, she says,
whispering now,
holding back tears.
there is no velma here,
she finally says,
but I wish there was, i'm
sorry
that you have the wrong
number.