PBX

P? Yes, I have to, but Mary Hitchcock’s already on break

B? A ballerina please. Toe shoes gleam in the light beneath my desk

X? Sí, Señor, puede obtener un X-Ray en éste dirección

I rattle off an address in English or in Spanish, more likely,

In the heart of the City of Angels, Ciudad de la Reina de los Angeles

“Good afternoon, Tuberculosis and Respiratory Disease Association of

Los Angeles County.” A mouthful. A bounty of

Cumbersome spittle creating consonants. My tongue’s dry by ten a.m.

At 19 in my second year of pushing and pulling brass nibs into or out of

Exasperating round holes, I shorten it.

“Hi! Christmas Seals, how may I direct your call?”

No one the wiser, but me. I learned a lot of Spanish in two years.

Forty years later I still have the small Pacific Bell tin of brass polish

My now grown girls loved to play dress-up with the worn out toe shoes.

Dreaming of other than menial labor.