Headphones

I’m not the kind of poet who can take a feeling

and put it in my mouth.

Paper is too thin to bear the weight 

of my tangled thoughts.

Still I cannot keep silent,

because the Demons in my brain

take comfort in The Quiet.

So instead I carry a sanctuary in my pocket,

a safe haven that provides just enough noise

to drown me out when I get too loud.

As I Drown the waves speak to me 

in a language I understand.

They tell me all the things

that I can’t tell myself.

I don’t know why I can’t comprehend

the way everyone else does.

Words always escape me.

A drum, however, speaks directly to my heart,

a melody in the right key shines light

on the darkest corners of my mind,

and together they save me from myself.

A pair of wires lifts the veil

and gives me sanctuary.

A pair of wires speaks to me

when all I hear is static.

A pair of wires shows me the things

I’m too blind to see.

My headphones are all that I need.