A little phone call
      A head of gray hair
      startles violently from its sleep.
      strands mask her bony face.
      Eyes fling open, their hue a piercing blue,
      shaking off every sluggish effect of sleep
      at a moment's notice.
      
      Slender fingers snake towards the machine,
      the skin appearing both stretched and loose.
      No more than an inch from the phone, the hand quivers,
      Hovering hesitantly for a moment.
      
      The ringing stops abruptly as she picks it up
      and holds it to her ear.
      Her brow furrows, forming scars,
      clear images that bring her feelings to the surface.
      The lifeless harbinger whispers, but you cannot hear the news.
      You can only guess from the way her blue eyes widen
      and how her lips creep back and stutter.