Switchboard Poems | Examples


Premium MemberMaster Crafter

Master
crafter

paper
later

compute
astute

website
ignite

laptop
giftshop

FedEx
success

jogger
blogger

clever
weber

keyboard
switchboard

email
voicemail

midnight
uptight

father
mother

good night
sleep tight

blanket
flank it

cover
lover

father
smarter

mainline
offline

loser 
snoozer.
Categories: switchboard, allusion, analogy, appreciation, computer,
Form: Footle

Self-Existent Light

Clumsily checked for the switchboard to put on the light
whence I suddenly caught a ghost at mirror sight; 
Promptly like a lizard I hugged the wall really tight
which modestly stood startled toward my right;
Fretting and sweating I counselled my might 
for the sake of convincing the spirit dressed in white;
And somehow tactfully managed to flee away from any horrific bite.  
Ouch, somewhere deep within my insight 
embers slowly kept leaping forward to ignite;
Now while sitting down to write the experience met tonight~
I realized abruptly that it's all nothing but self- existent light! (conscience)

7 June 2023

Submitted to: Self-existent light Poetry Contest
Sponsored by unseeking seeker.
Categories: switchboard, adventure, character, conflict, dark,
Form: Rhyme


Premium MemberMidweek Recitation

the class
   of summer fifty five
left to ply
   their business lives

the office     partners just two
pens   pencils nearly-new

clerking the lowest
                of the low
daily drudgery
  reality soon shone thru'
down the cellar
    my steps did wend
scuttle filled   fires to tend
the 'old man ' yelling
      'ere lad  chop chop
get me baccy
   from t'corner shop

wait-on
 tea-break brews'
                        in a stew
bellow the back-office crew
one more task
       to get done
   for the partner's son
another errand     no time to chat 
  he'd forgotten the fish
          for his wife's cat
then
    the switchboard clicked
           the doorbell chimed
skills to learn  juggle  prioritise
        which to choose   to attend
mail in the tray
            still to send

whew!
    nearly five  knock-off time
in view
    just one task  still to do
fetch the 'boss's evening  news

  was this really
           the career    to choose
Categories: switchboard, nostalgia, youth,
Form: Bio

Premium MemberPenny Rich

Birth, with stars in her eyes, exploding with mirth.
Mollycoddled, swaddled, passed off by nurses.
Aperture opens, closes - checking out earth.
The peacock calligrapher inks fair verses.
Not bad for a Penny - they sold a circ worth.
The switchboard oohs and ahhs as she converses.
Under the sagacious skies, each phonation
Recorded in babbles with their duration.

9/24/2022
Categories: switchboard, birth, humor, money,
Form: Ottava rima

Premium MemberThe Office a Chronicle

the class
   of summer fifty five
left to ply
   their business lives

the office     partners just two
pens   pencils nearly-new

clerking the lowest
                of the low
daily drudgery
  reality soon shone thru'
down the cellar
    my steps did wend
scuttle filled   fires to tend
the 'old man ' yelling
      'ere lad  chop chop
get me baccy
   from t'corner shop

wait-on
 tea-break brews'
                        in a stew
bellow the back-office crew
one more task
       to get done
   for the partner's son
another errand     no time to chat 
  he'd forgotten the fish
          for his wife's cat
then
    the switchboard clicked
           the doorbell chimed
skills to learn  juggle  prioritise
        which to choose   to attend
mail in the tray
            still to send

whew!
    nearly five  knock-off time
in view
    just one task  still to do
fetch the 'boss's evening  news

  was this really
           the career    to choose
Categories: switchboard, business, memory,
Form: Rhyme


Premium MemberLaugh-In

The highlight of our week
Knock knock who’s there
A barrage of punchy one-liners
Hilarious skits to crack you up
Ruth Buzzi swinging her purse
Lily Tomlin at the switchboard
One ringy dingy…two ringy dingy
Rowan & Martin’s snide remarks
Giggles from behind doors
Goldie Hawn flashing her smile
And her infectious laughter
Unconditionally raising
Sunday night’s goofy silliness
To new lofty altitudes
Of exuberant cheerfulness
Lavishly overflowing well
Into bluesy Monday mornings



AP: Honorable Mention 2025

Published in my 24-page photo/anthology ~RANDOM MUSINGS VOL.2~ 2020

Submitted on February 6, 2020 for contest STRAND SELECT F sponsored by BRIAN STRAND  -  RANKED 1ST

Posted on February 3, 2020
Categories: switchboard, celebrity, cheer up, fun,
Form: Free verse

The Deluge

#MeToo staff are climbing the walls
Their switchboard is flooded with calls
'Tis a stalwart crew
But what can they do
When sporting equipment has balls?
Categories: switchboard, relationship,
Form: Limerick

Avoidance

Avoidance

I sleep to avoid my issues 
I drink to achieve the same 
I stay up all night 
When no-one is around 
So as not to face the next day

Every waking hour 
A silent torture for me 
It is dark and cold 
Strangles me with despair and oppression 
Trapped in a place I'd rather not be

No light at the end of the tunnel 
Phone on silent so I don't have to speak 
My mind jammed with troubles 
Like a switchboard with wires 
Everything looks so bleak

My bills are unopened 
I can't bear to face 
They say things will get better 
But they don't they only get worse 
I don't choose to feel so hopeless 
I don't want to drink away my fears 
The problems get worse 
I am desperate to be in a better place

A place that I dream of 
When my Angel allows 
Walking on sand made of diamonds 
Surrounded by peace 
Caressed by silence not tortured 
Because this silence I want to keep
Categories: switchboard, anxiety, depression,
Form: Free verse

Premium MemberMy First Job


My place of work they used to call ”Ma Bell”
As switchboard operator, “number please”
Became my tool of their “advanced intel”  
With wires and plugs held to connect parties.

Three days a week from three to ten, my job
Was set; with school next day, I soon burned out.
My arms and back were sore, began to throb
From stretching here and there and all about

To find and reach, connect the lines between
The callers and the called through panel holes.
Soon tired and aching with this job routine
I knew this one would never meet my goals.

No doubts about my choice have haunted me…
Switchboards dissolved with new technology!

© Sandra M. Haight 2014 
   All Rights Reserved

~3rd Place~
Contest: Jobs
Sponsor: Sara Kendrick
Judged: 12/11/2014
Categories: switchboard, jobs,
Form: Sonnet

Premium MemberAntiques

she used to have skills
at a telephone switchboard
today she is scared
of cell phones and computers
my mom is one sweet antique

writing poems by hand
and reading hard cover books
I know little of
the functions of a smart phone
I’m becoming my mother
Categories: switchboard, mother daughter,
Form: Tanka

Bronze

A series of lights sparkle the 
switchboard , glass , jaw shatters.
	Looking thru the microscope 
to see a microbe settling down , quill in 'hand' 
scribin' Metanarratives , MidWives and tales 
of Fairie untill , at sudden a quark 
shout quivers at the sight of each glass rose 
rising out of The Black. Clean scrubbed of any 
and all curiousity your aware of , as you 
replace memory w-/ flashing imagery.
Quick ; stretch those doorhinge muscles
or you'll never live w-/ an impression 
of Life. Current Events ;
Soaped imitiation.
Categories: switchboard, art
Form: Free verse

Ghosts

A shadow of a family
Sits, lumping on our couch
Watching TV with mindless eyes
Occasionally letting a few words out

The lines that bind together
Lie about on the ground like jump ropes
They’re always in the way
Tripping up dreams and shorting out hopes

Every emotion results in a trip
The kitchen holds our sleeping pills
We are cannibals who ravage our own souls
Unaware of what we’ve just killed

When shadow touches skin
An unholy shiver acknowledges the split
Broken bits lie behind beauty
Our reality is a switchboard with connectors that never fit.

Written by Trudy Schrader on July 4th 2007


Note: This was a poem I wrote 3 days before I left my husband of 14 years (16 at divorce).
Categories: switchboard, family
Form: Rhyme
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