what is really being said

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and i
for the first time
maybe
wished for more hum from the world
more bustling of insects

or perhaps the murmur of the diner
the clinking glasses and cloth skidding across vinyl booths

or the background static on long distance phone calls
phantoms chiming in, the hiss and pop of a fire at full blaze

or the gargling din of my ears underwater
the shrieks and laughs transported through vast steel drums, the kind with massive ridges like a cheap soup can

the sound of what is really being said
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