Two Poems by Chloe Martinez (poetry, ’09)

An excerpt from “36 text messages, 16 missed calls” by Chloe Martinez (poetry, ’09), one of two poems published at The Indianapolis Review:

36 text messages, 16 missed calls

There is an urgency with which they write and call,
starting after work, about the seven boxes
of laminate flooring that somebody—but not me—
is giving away: free free free!!! The flooring is somewhere

in Sacramento. I have their names and their numbers.
Their inquiries range from casual—“Heyyyy my name’s
Jose do you still have the boxes”—to formal: “Good evening,
I am interested in the laminate flooring posted

on Craig’s List…” Some take a pleading tone—“if you still
have the flooring, I’ll come and get it right now ???”
One even says, “I need flooring desperately!”
A lady named Dee writes a careful, warm message  […continue reading here]