I always forget
what you say
when it is important.
When you pull
me aside
to share your wounded secret.
I am preoccupied
with my own delusions.
You are far too quiet,
I can barely hear you,
what with the sound
of the whole world
tumbling down.
I used to hear so well;
back when I was a prisoner,
locked in my jail cell.
I swear to God,
I could hear everything.
The light through the keyhole
was as bright
as the Sun to me,
but I’ve been out a while
and I find
I’m blind,
deaf and dumb.
This is it;
The answer to all your questions.
I’m hearing you, now.
Loud and clear,
I have received your message.
It’s just as I feared,
your trying to intimate
some abstract concept;
like pain relieved,
mind awake
from anesthesia.
It makes
no sense.
Even five by five.
I don’t understand.
Can you not articulate,
or explain yourself
in terms that aren’t
your own experience,
or internal dialogue?
it doesn’t matter
anyway.
I’ve heard enough
and I can see that you’re desperate.
To be loved,
to be heard,
to be understood.
The answer is, “No”.
HG – 2019