Title - Please Hold

• The Title 'Please Hold' is a phrase commonly encountered during automated phone interactions, where callers are asked to wait until a human operator or information becomes available - This phrase is repeated throughout, reflecting the speaker's ongoing frustration and sense of being trapped in a cycle of waiting and unfulfilled promises
• The Title 'Please Hold' symbolises the speaker's existential state of being 'held' or suspended in a liminal space - neither fully engaged with meaningful human interaction nor able to escape the automated systems that dominate contemporary communication - This metaphorical 'holding' reflects a larger commentary on the dehumanising effects of technology and bureaucracy, where individuals are reduced to passive participants in a mechanized world
• The Title 'Please Hold' also introduces an element of irony and satire - The polite and ostensibly helpful tone of 'Please Hold' contrasts sharply with the speaker's growing frustration and the inefficacy of the automated system - This irony underscores the poem's sardonic critique of modernity's promises versus its actual delivery, revealing the absurdity of using polite formalities in a context where genuine service and human connection are absent
• The Title 'Please Hold' suggests a psychological state characterized by patience wearing thin and emotional exhaustion - The repetition of the phrase throughout the poem emphasizes the psychological toll of enduring impersonal interactions and waiting indefinitely for resolution or connection
• The Title 'Please Hold' transforms from a mundane request to an existential commentary on life itself, suggesting that waiting indefinitely and being put on hold symbolize the helplessness of individuals in a bureaucratic and automated world