sounds of silence by Mehr Walia (20, India)

the somber synonyms of sea 
make the insides of a shell hush with words 
in the pearled mother tongue of the moving water 
I cup my ears over the wood and it sounds like a fret train running through my brain at 12:34 am ​

---

silences play hide and seek with me 
fool around in meadows 
distance measured in rows of 
identical dancing dandelions 
distance pools endless possibilities 
the proximity 
like stung plump by a bee 
makes my lips 
tremble with the thoughts of tranquility 

I seek only silences 
and they playfully hide away from me 
questions ground in a mortar 
coarse powdery 
like plaster of paris 
mixed with water 
science's feeble try to mend broken bones 
set out in the air, getting dry by the second 
asking for the reverberation of my reasons
for me, I have shards of glasses 
fitted down my throat 
that hurt and cluster 
on angles of light i don't understand 
like a kaleidoscope with blood clots inside instead of twinkles and twilight 

mom interrupts with a cup of warm ginger tea she's sweet and my throat feels better already but the time is up 

'why can you not be more like her' 
'why can you not at least smile?' 
'why would you spill the tea down the sink it's always too bitter or too sugary but - but what did you do make of all the things in life' it decays and decays 
on my skin and on my mind 
like a picture of Dorian Gray 
silences turn into sin 

when the whole country is left tired to the bone sucked dry of life, 
it's a coup - 
brewing in the secrecy of late night cafés that extends a hail and leads a turn of events
without further questions 

so I light my candles 
warm yellow 
and borrow papa's music vinyls 
old mellow 
make one of those elaborate plans I say 
there's an abandoned house 
by the end of the street 
dense and sweet 
humbly covered in milk weed 
so tear out pages of poetry and carry them in the inner pocket of your trench coat pretend we have our own dead poet's society 
hold hands and I'll show you 
how we've been fitting the wrong key 
silences but shared 
share only silences 

take a moment to sip more of that 
while I find a new hiding place for me 
now rush 
put on your mask 
I'm five steps to the right of the olive branch tree 
come find me

​