Too Much Sound Poem by Anne Marie V. Kennedy

Block out the voices.
Too much sound.

It is enough that we
Have to endure being here,

Existing on illusion and Starbucks
Just to get us through the day.

For some of us, it is still not enough,
To allow us to silence our voices

So that they will at least blend in
With the mass of other voices,

All saying the same thing,
In different ways,
Over and over again.

It is kind of hypnotic,
If you allow yourself
The somewhat comforting thought
Of death.

Ensnared in the
New Opium
Of apathy.

So on those days when it is just too much
To allow the sounds to penetrate you
With their shrill deception and unforgiving drone

You decide that you are not as afraid
As you thought you were.

Suddenly, music breaks out from you,
Though you have never sung before.

But it is needed.

Otherwise, you might die
And others might not-

Still so intoxicated by the pull
Of the familiar enticements

Which never provide
The true provisions that they require.

Just to stay alive.

(August 22,2008)