A Buried Signal

 

I hear something in the noise,

so subtle that I’ve missed it

until now,

but I can hear it,

a message in the madness.

Maybe a few cycles different,

running counter to the current,

frequency to one adjacent,

hidden deep in the turbulence.

 

I can’t tell

if it’s been buried there

on purpose,

or if it’s being

drown out

in the chorus

of signals,

of noise,

and of voices

all clamoring

just to get noticed.

 

I heard it

when I was

about to

disconnect myself.

It came through

when I was feeling

overwhelmed.

A pattern

within the chaos

that we miss

when we’re

in the maelstrom.

 

A tiny voice

repeating itself,

over and over,

a message

older

than the medium.

Something old,

something real,

something not

explained

by the algorithm.

 

It says;

“We’re still here.

We’re okay.

All the things

that existed

before the world

went insane

are still here.

Don’t panic.

Just look away.

Disconnect.

We’re still here.

There’s still

a real life left.”

 

I put down my phone.

I walked outside.

The sun was in the sky,

the birds still flew by.

The colors were still bright,

the air was still fresh and clean,

I walked for a while

and found

things were just

as they had always been.

 

The noise is just

the sounds

on the surface.

Real life

still exists

below.

We don’t have to worry,

about our existence,

we can still live

the ways we’ve known;

free from the confusion.

 

Real life

is quiet

outside.

 

 

HG – 2021