I Can'T Hear You When You Whisper

" I CAN'T HEAR YOU WHEN YOU WHISPER " you screech one final time, so loudly that the walls between us shake (Listen, listen, listen!) I repeat, with fresh rebellion but to you, it's just a whisper so you hear nothing 'til my lips are at your grimy ear and now it is too late After I have done, you thump behind me down the cellar stairs, eyes aglitter And leaning awkwardly against the roughened wall, stare past me as I work I may now speak my mind unmolested, while you, of course, can make no further comment These shaken walls hold sentences for far too many ghosts and tomorrow, I'll begin to tear them down but for now, I eulogize at the height of my voice so I can't hear you when you whisper