Hilda is on the phone

all of my mother's friends,

from

childhood

and into adulthood had names

you rarely

hear anymore.

it's a shame.

it's rare to meet an Edna these days,

or a Gertrude,

Evelynn, or Agnes.

no longer do you hear the name

Mitzi or Myrtle,

and yet

when the phone would ring,

we'd call out

to mom, yelling out

their names.

mom, Bertha's on the line,

or Ethel,

but it sounds like Eunice,

Edwina's sister,

and Midge is at the door

with a strawberry

pie. i think i see

Sylvia coming up the street

walking her dog,

Gladys.