Resonating Silence

Julia Mitchell

So much noise—constant, thundering, suffocating noise.
The hum from the air vent.
The construction machinery outside.
The clicking rhythm of the light panel.

Everything makes noise.

Nothing so much so as people, though.
They chatter and bicker and complain and prattle and gossip ceaselessly.
I get tired of listening to people.
No matter where I am, the auditory ambush is there to greet me.

Everyone makes noise.

Without an escape, I have no choice but to endure it.
But candidly, I wish the human race would just shut up—even if only for a moment.
A moment of absolute silence.
Yes, that’s what I want.
A split second with no one running their mouth.

Stop the noise.

It would do so much good for me because my head hurts, my soul hurts; my entire being is bothered by the always present sound.
Everyone could benefit, I suppose.
Maybe it would show us how loud we undeniably are.
If we paused for a moment every time before we spoke, I wonder how much less we’d say.
A naive and childlike thought to be sure, though.
Instead, I will continue in this world, blocking out their noise with my own.

The silence might resonate.