Dusting the Phone by Jackie Kay

Kay never specifies who the person is, which adds to the poem's impact. The silent caller might be a lover, a parent, or a friend—anyone whose lack of communication brings heartache. While many readers link it to a romantic relationship, considering the collection it belongs to, the poem remains intentionally broad, allowing it to resonate with any important relationship where one person is waiting and the other isn't making contact.

The plainness is intentional. By depicting something as simple as dusting a phone, Kay illustrates how grief and longing don't make grand entrances — they quietly infiltrate the little, everyday tasks we perform. The contrast between this mundane action and the deep emotions that underpin it is where the poem truly resonates.

Kay has shared her own experiences with longing and unrequited love, and her biography—being adopted, searching for belonging, and navigating queer identity—adds a personal urgency to her writing. However, she often pushes back against the idea of viewing her poems as mere autobiography. The speaker represents a persona, even if the emotions expressed are genuine.

Repeating "the phone says nothing" emphasizes the silence in a way that a single statement cannot. It captures the feeling of waiting — you look again and again, but the answer remains unchanged. This repetition also has a somewhat numbing effect, as if the speaker is attempting to come to terms with what she already understands.

Other Lovers (1993) is a collection filled with desire and its frustrations. The fact that this poem appears alongside others exploring queer love and longing adds depth — the silence of the phone can be seen as reflecting the silence society imposes on certain types of love. However, the poem stands strong on its own without that backdrop.

It can be interpreted that way. The image of a woman dusting while waiting for a man—or anyone in a position of power in the relationship—highlights a familiar gender dynamic. Kay doesn’t explicitly state this interpretation, but she doesn’t dismiss it either. The poem acknowledges the politics of who waits and who has the authority to make others wait.

Kay's poetry often delves into the concept of belonging — whether it's to a family, a country, a lover, or an identity. This poem follows that theme: the speaker feels like an outsider, longing for inclusion. The phone becomes the latest symbol through which Kay expresses that universal, painful feeling of not being fully chosen.