communication

Cannot Be Completed As Dialed

Phone

pressing our ears to wires
we tap Morse code on rust
hoping for lightning:
a storm against silence

What might I say
to break
this awkward silence?

If I am peevish or irritable
it may not be that I am simply a grump

I contain within myself
a great turmoil and fear

And when you prod in anger
when I ask you to leave it well alone
do not tell me you did not wish
to hear such heartbreak

What despair!
That my words
Be greeted with silence.

I’d rather have you besides me
Silence tied, a string between us
Then send messages in a bottle

In the silent waiting time
One must trust of good intentions
And greet the guest with courtesy and respect

In between the lines of unsaid things
It does great harm to project insecurities
And lay foundation to an anger that is not there

Be truthful and give explanation to yourself
Even if none is given to you
But understand that all words hold the curse of Babel