Don't use the phone. People are never ready to answer it. Use poetry.

The line contrasts two modes of reaching others: the telephone, which demands immediate, synchronized attention, and poetry, which can be received on the reader’s own time and with greater openness. Kerouac implies that direct, practical communication often catches people unprepared—emotionally, mentally, or spiritually—whereas art can bypass defensiveness and speak more truthfully. The advice also reflects a writer’s faith in language as a more authentic conduit than everyday chatter: poetry can hold ambiguity, longing, and intensity without requiring instant replies. In that sense, “use poetry” becomes both a creative credo and a strategy for human connection when ordinary contact fails.