Drip, drip,
I hear the raindrops as
They punch the window pane
Again and again
Trying to break in;
The window must hurt.
Gasp, blink, thump,
I hear nothing
And yet everything,
Every breath filling my lungs,
Every flutter of my eyelids,
Every beat against my ribcage,
The silence is so loud,
So loud.
Turn it down,
Please turn it down,
I can't hear myself think!
Or are my thoughts too loud
To hear?
Drip, huff, blink,
Inhale, blink, drip, thump.
No noise, no more noise,
Please.
I have heard enough.
And yet I cannot cover my ears.
I need to hear them,
The footsteps when they come.
I need to hear them.
Stomp, stomp, stomp,
I listen to the footsteps coming closer.
Thumping the hardwood floor,
The beast is coming;
I remind myself to breathe.
Inhale, exhale;
Falling into rhythm
With its stomping.
Knock,
Gasp, blink,
Knock, knock,
It waits for the door to open.
It waits for me to welcome it.
Knock, knock, knock,
No!
No, I will not answer you.
So please stop trying to get to me,
I just want silence,
I just want peace.
You make things messy,
You make a mess of me.
It knocks and knocks again.
Bang, bang, bang.
Keep going wretched beast, go ahead.
You cannot touch me now,
Today is the day I draw the line upon my skin.
So keep slamming
Until your palm burns,
I will not answer you now.
Pound away, loathsome beast.
I will not answer you.
I will lie here and
Stain these white sheets in a crimson river.
Red is a better color anyway.
The knocking stops,
It enters now.
But you are too late, foolish beast!
I have won!
You cannot get to me anymore,
Even if you shake my shoulders,
Even if you strike my face,
No sound will escape my lips,
These cracked lips have forgotten
What it means to speak.
There will be no more knocking,
No more stomping.
Now I can go back to listening
To the silence.
Drip, drop, blink, thump,
