[Newspoetry] in case of emergency

[ahcopter at midway.uchicago.edu]

in case of emergency: telespree's marketing pitch to the phone service carriers

we know that everyone who can afford a cellular phone already has one
but we're not content with that
and you shouldn't be either

now it's time to prey on the concerned senior citizens
and the vigilant parents
and the jealous teenagers
and the dignity of the entire low-income bracket
and implore them all to spend their fleetingly disposable income
on disposable cellular phones
in case of emergency

just thirty paltry dollars (we think)
for an unspecified amount of talk time
a flimsy earpiece
and a little microphone

and when the purchased time concludes
let them litter their alleys with the spent talk-time cartridges
and scrape together more meal money to buy replacements at the local 
      seven-eleven

no long-term service contract
no extravagant hardware
so no blood on our hands when these phones can't fill their stomachs
in case of emergency


                   --nicky neulist