MIKE CECCONI

 


NUMBERS STATION


 

1 Yankee Hotel Foxtrot A
2             (our ears to the radio) B
3 Bravo Alpha Romeo C
4             (our eyes to the sky) D
5 Tango Victor Tango E
6            (listening for code) F
7 G
8  Yankee Hotel Foxtrot H
9             listening through the radio static I
0             looking for meaning in the background hiss J
1            words in the ether K
2             songs in the beeps L
3             skipping back into the electronic boxes M
4             for us to decipher N
5             even if there’s nothing there O
6             just whirrs P
7             and hums Q
8 R
9 Yankee Hotel Foxtrot S
0             (eyes gone dry from CNN) T
1 Charlie Alpha Whiskey U
2             (ears gone numb from Limbaugh dittes) V
3 Victor Charlie Charlie W
4             (hands type away forever) X
5 Y
6 Yankee Hotel Foxtrot Z
7             a foreign voice in the hiss A
8 B
9 Yankee Hotel Foxtrot C
0 Yankee… Hotel… Foxtrot D
1 E
2 Yankee Hotel Foxtrot F
3             anonymous voice out of nowhere G
4             broadcasting to nowhere H
5             from nowhere I
6             to no one J
7             but there she is K
8             on the shortwave radio L
9             and what is she saying? M
0 “Yankee… Hotel… Foxtrot” N
1             but what does she mean? O
2 “Yankee… Hotel… Foxtrot” P
3 Q
4 Whiskey Charlie Bravo R
5              after Pearl Harbor, we were pissing our pants S
6            we thought they’d already taken California T
7 Victor Delta Bravo U
8             after the Russians got the bomb V
9             the commies were everywhere W
0             we were all spies X
1             and we all had decoder rings Y
2 Z
3 Yankee Hotel Foxtrot A
4             half a year ago, we had no idea B
5             there were still two planes in the sky C
6                         or was it six? D
7                                     or ten? E
8             they already took New York F
9             was Topeka the next to go? G
0 H
1 Yankee Yankee Yankee I
2             every brown man is a suspect now, a terrorist J
3                         so says the decoder ring K
4                         so says the man on the radio L
5                         so says the internet M
6 N
7 one two three four five six seven: all good children go to heaven O
8 A B C D E F G: tell me what you think of me P
9 H I J K L M N O P: tell me how the world will be Q
0 Q R S T U V: tell me what you want to see R
1 W X Y Z: you see what you want to see S
2 T
3 Yankee Hotel Foxtrot U
4             (there is no code) V
5 Yankee Romeo Whiskey W
6             (there is no code) X
7 Bravo Hotel Delta Y
8             (the whispers are just whispers) Z
9 Victor Charlie Foxtrot A
0             (the rumours are just rumours) B
1             (the fears are just fears) C
2 Yankee Hotel Foxtrot D
3             (shut off the teevee) E
4 Yankee Hotel Foxtrot F
5             (shut off the radio) G
6 Yankee Hotel Foxtrot H
7             (shut off the computer) I
8 wake up, america J
9             there is no code K

 


Mike Cecconi performed this piece at Brett Axel's slam venue in Utica during March 2002. Here are his notes about the genesis of this poem:

These links shed some light on the shortwave radio spy paranoia and the Military Alphabet at the center of the piece.

www.dxing.com/numbers.htm

www.straightdope.com/classics/a3_330.html

www.totse.com/en/politics/foreign_military_intelligence_agencies/spystatn.html

www.spynumbers.com/

home.freeuk.com/spook007/

 

Copyright © 2002 by Michael A. Cecconi.

Material may not be reprinted without prior written permission.

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