Amplitude in a Small Apartment

There is a need for quietness today,
I listen to my neighbor's toilet flush,
it takes a long time for the sound
to drain away and refill,
I hold seconds inside my mind
between that rise and fall.

There is space for listening,
the trash compactor chews on
when switched off.
I hear conversations
filtering through the air conditioner,
words both distinct and garbled.
Yesterdays hurried meal
speaks still, moments explore
newly opened pocket.

This is not silence
sound moves upon carpet slippers,
yet steps are heightened
by being audible
in a lower registry of depth.

It is I who creates this lengthening,
this processional unwinding of
of unremarkable moments,
a distance between
and marked by blank labels -

every note,
an eavesdropping deliverance.
Copyright © | Year Posted 2025

Poem

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