The Walls Talk Back at Night

for Maria

All day long the walls stand strong

and listen silently,

but when in bed I rest my head,

they talk back to me.

The sounds that vibrate

through the day

have been absorbed

and must replay.

Through my pillow I can hear

reverberations of the day

coming out from in the walls,

a very jumbled way.

It registers as language

that I should recognize,

instead is conversation

that I can not cognize.

Like purple words

through black night air

they speak to me

a muffled scare.

I struggle to decipher

who is saying what.

I do not understand,

and I wish they would shut up.

by:  Paula D. Nevison