I think many of us have had that horrible moment of sheer panic when the ringing of a telephone awakens us in the early morning hours from a deep sleep. This is the only time we truly wish for it to be a "wrong number". Unfortunately, this poem was inspired by an all-too-real, life-altering incident.

This poem originally was published in Poems on Life

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The Phone Call
by Kit McCallum
The call that comes in darkest sleep,
Awakens with a fright;
For 2 am, the silence breaks
The peaceful calm of night.

When only moments earlier,
I dreamt of visions fair;
Of light and love and happiness;
... Till ringing filled the air.

It beckoned me from deepest sleep,
And drew me from my daze;
I shook my head to clear my mind,
Find focus through this haze.

"How long has this been ringing?"
As I reach to find the light;
I steal a glance toward the clock,
And now my heart takes flight!

'Tis many hours before the dawn,
Yet all should be in bed;
My loved ones faces fill the night;
... My heart is filled with dread.

I struggle for composure as
I reach to grab the phone;
My stomach churns, my heart contracts;
"Are all my kids at home?"

I stumble as I grasp the handle,
Stifle silent screams;
"Oh God ... please let this phone call
Be a part of just a dream!"

My heart is racing, mind's a whirl,
Receiver's made of lead;
"Oh, how can this be happening!"
"Who's on the other end?!"

Just seconds pass and yet I find
It's been eternity;
I raise the phone to panicked ear;
"Oh please ... don't be for me!"
© 2000 Kit McCallum Please respect the rights of the author and Passions in Poetry. If you would like to use this poem on your own web page, please contact the Author. Thank you.
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57 Visitor Comments (from the Voting form)
  • karen
    yes its frightening when you get a phone call early in the morning. great poem
  • Victoria
    I think that this poem comes from true experences. only then can the words reach awaiting ears and toch thets of those who need it most.
  • Roxanne
    It really was good. no it was GREAT. It made me think how my little brother is always out in the hours of the street.
  • Andrea
    This poem is so creepy, almost. It just keeps you on the edge of your seat. i loved it
  • Kelli
    I loved this poem because I got a call from my mother she was at the hospital, she just told me that my sister had passed away, this happened almost 16 years ago but I still miss her because she was my best friend and she was the the one theat took care of me when I was sick and when our mom was at work. Again I really loved this poem.
  • Sunnygirl
    I loved this poem. There was mixed emotions in this poem and i tought it was amazing. espacally the way you glided though to change the tone of the poem. Just reading this even I got worried about the phone call.
  • Clifton
    I liked that poem alot. I actually singed it just now. I love to sing and that was the perfect song for me!
  • Deb
    This poem is amazing. I have been in that situation, that that is exactly how I felt. You did an amazing job of expressing those thoughts that run thru your head when something like that happens.
  • molly
    i understand this peom. i too have experienced this sort of thing. its scary. great writing! im a poet and im only 12. 2 of my poems have been published in a school book. this poem inspires me to do what is best and thanx
  • Samantha
    i love it. it gave me a fright. made me wonder. gave me hope and some thought. Samantha
  • Leanna
    i liked the poem. i think we all have went though that scare atleast once in our lifes.
  • Danielle
    I can Relate to this poem im 16 and I had the most wonderful uncle in the world and We got the call at night telling me that he had passed away my heart still hurts because when i go to georgia I pass by his house and it just hurts. He was my favorite uncle but I know that he is in a better place but I still Miss him dearly! Thanks Danielle
  • Christina
    I liked this poem because I got a phone call telling me that my mom had past away. No one wants to get that phone call.
  • Diana
    it is very true n exprienced by me n is really very irritating i swear good keep it up!
  • Shannon
    That is terrorizing. I want to know what happens!
  • Choya
    This is really good, there for a second i thought it was going to turn out to a movie ive watched, when a stanger calls, so i was like, umm. but when it finished it was good, i was really surprised, you did a great job! I also write poem
  • Allyson
    This poem made a very big impact on me. I recieved a call telling me that my grandfather had died of a heart-attack and i had only seen him a few hours ealier happy and just reading about how sometimes things happen for an unknown reason and it hurts more than anything, not being able to know why they decided to left you at the time they did.
  • Abriel
    i really like da poem. i poetry and sometimes i sit there and wonder wat i dink when i write them.
  • Carina
    I think this poem is nice and sort of scary at the same time because when you're reading thisyou picture in your mind at one part it sounds calm then at the other part it just sounds so frightning. I like poems that have mixed emotions so i thought this was a great poem.
  • asminda
    it was very spirttall
  • Erica
    The definition of a great poet, is one who can stir emotions inside of you, and recall memories and feelings. This is why I would have you to call you a great poet. This poem reminded me not only of the dreadful phone call that I recived in the middle of the night, but also the emotions that I felt when I'd heard the news. I enjoyed the way you kept the reader wondering who on earth was on the other end of the phone. It truly served its purpose as I actually AM itching to know who had called (nosy I know!) Anyways, fantastic work! --Erica (13)
  • METRIC
    THAT WAS JUST WOUNDERFUL I CAN TRUELY RELATE TO YOUR DECRIPTION OF THE CALL THAT IS SO TRUE IN LIFE KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK
  • Heather
    I loved your poem it is how you truly fell when you get that dreaded call in the middle of the night. You have cought all the emotion of it, it was such a wounderful poems.
  • suneetha
    i have had this experience, of this call at past midnight, i really sensed bad news even before my husband attended the call, it was a most beloved uncle, who met with a motor accident , had an immediate brain death and passed away within the next two days. calls at night still make me shiver.
  • Miranda
    I thougt it was very nice and you should have told who it was who was it?
  • shayla
    very nice poem!
  • brittany
    i think the poem is really good
  • Indee
    hey i love this poem it touched me very much just like what i have been thinking for a couple years thanks for sharing!
  • Dorothy
    I vote for this poem because it's well written, many people can relate to it, rhymes well, about two years ago my son and I had a quarterly magazine It was an all rhyme magazine I gave it up when my son passed away, This was one of the poems I would have liked to use
  • Kathy
    I have had the phone ring in the middle of the night and felt this fear. I know a few times I have said " Dear God let everything be ok. My parents are older and I fear the day I will get that call in the middle of the night.
  • Steve
    I think it was very moving, I found myself thinking about my 2 teenagers in bed asleep, and how I can never go to sleep untill I know they're safely home.
  • Tom
    I liked it
  • Lianne
    Reading your poem brought me back to that horrible night at 3 am when the phone call I received sent me out into the night, literally screaming from a pain so deep, so intense, that I could not control this agony from being released. Thank you for writing this down so well!
  • Brittany
    All of your poems are so wonderful and enjoyable! They have truely inspired me! You are a really great writer and I enjoy you tremendously! Thank you for helping me with my writings and keep on doing what you are doing!
  • Mario
    This poem gives insight on some people's worst fear, lssig a family. I'm a writer myself and got a chill down my back after I finised reading that poem
  • Krisna
    This poem tore my heart to shreds. it is forever etched in mind.
  • kayla
    good poem
  • Jen
    This poem completely filled my senses again. It's so terrifying what one small phone call can bring to someone. I remember waking up after hearing the phone, and my parents telling me about my best friend. I know what it feels like, but I also know that there is light at the end of the dark tunnel. God has truly blessed you, Kit.
  • beth
    it was suspenceful
  • n/a
    I kind of understand the poem just a little i get that feeling to when someone calls that late also
  • nana
    THIS WAS SO TRUE ANYONE WITH TEEN AGE CHILDREN SHOULD READ THIS AND GOD BLESS ALL WHO DOE;S AND HOPE AND PRAY THAT ANY OF YOU WHO GET A CALL LIKE THIS ALL YOUR CHILDREN ARE SAFE OR IT IS THE WRONG NUMBER.
  • Kri
    Wow. as I read your poem, I felt I wrote it, infact it seems almost my words. Bless your ever future call, for I understand. keep writing it touched a spirt.
  • Marie
    I really love this poem, because I've had a call just like that at 3 in the morning, and it turned out that my mom had been in a car accident and killed. So I can understand all of the things running throigh your head at that time
  • ranju
    Woderfully written ! But, the call is not always horrifying. It can give you your wildest hope coming true. I had a friend whom I last met when in high school. I somehow traced his whereabouts after 25 years(then I was 14 and now I am 39 and got his phone number and dialled to speak to him. He picked the phone and I asked if he was the same person and gave my identity. He was shocked, filled with emotions,too overwhelmed and excited and then he told me that it was midnight 2 o clock in Canada while I was very coolly calling him from India where it was a time before noon. Now, we are in touch.
  • Deanne
    I had such a call not too long ago and it was all a hoax - the pain I went thru I would not wish on my worst enemy - this poem just took a small chip of that pain away - I still find it difficult to forget the incident though
  • Mandy
    I really liked this poem. you are a good writer.
  • Emmanuel
    your poem is really good the way it is witten puts you right where it is happening
  • Jennalee
    I really like that poem. It was well written.
  • cat
    this is such a great poem! so well written. you have amazing tallent
  • mary
    Your poem was amazing. It puts you right there at that time. For me that's a little painful, But it's true. It's very real. It's the way I feel every time that phone rings in the middle of the night. From experience.
  • tanni
    hey.wow, all i can say is this is a pretty powerful poem! I really like this
  • Amanda&Alizyaih
    very well written its like everyone thinks of the same thing in the night when the phone rings!
  • rachael
    How is it that you know what you're about to hear with out picking up the phone? I had the call late one night, but I knew already she was gone.
  • kelleah
    This poem brought out alot of memories for me. In 2 days my sister will have been gone for nine years and it fully makes me understand how my mother feels when that phones rings late at night.
  • cara
    i feel your pain i just recieved a phone call in the middle of the night and i was thinking the same thing but i was for me and it was a horrible thing and i wish it all was a dream but we all have to face reality even when i isn't fun to do.
  • connie
    This poem really brought back some memories. I enjoyed it and thought it very well written.
  • Karen
    This is excellent all too true I have had this experience with awful circumstance.
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