Poem Nov 2019

Little Noise

 

Not the involuntary

shudder released

when wakening

or the deeper sigh

escaping the reposing

soul forsaking sleep,

more a humph

in the back of the

throat but absent

contempt, regret,

arrogance or anger,

pulsing the inner ear,

the bony labyrinth

of semicircular canals

where it resonates

with disquiet:

it’s the little noise

we make when

a heart stops.

— Stephen E. Smith