PORTRAIT FOUR (Solo Voice)

 
She was to ring the doctor;
she was to ring the doctor if it got worse.
She was to make an appointment and see the doctor on Friday.
If it wasn't better on Friday she was to ring;
but on Friday it was better,
it hadn't got worse on Friday
so she didn't ring, she rang me
to tell me.
 
She was coming down the escalator on the way to work
at St. James's Park
and this man was running down the escalator on the way to work
and she got to the bottom and he cut across her
(he was going right and she was going left
so he cut across her
because he was running)
and her left wrist and wrenched her ankle
and she didn't go to work, she rang me
to tell me.
 
She left, with me, the letter, to post.
I was to have posted it on Saturday.
She gave it to me because she would have forgotten
to post it on Saturday
and she didn't want it posted before Saturday
on account of Joni,
but she told me on Friday not to post it on Saturday
because of her foot.
She didn't want it posted, so she rang me
to tell me.
 
She was pounding on the television
because of the picture;
pounding it like this: pam pam pam;
and pushing it like this: wrrr, rrr, rrr;
and I said, 'Please don't do that,
they're delicate things.'

 
 
 
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