I wear sky blue ear defenders to dull the threatening hum of the world.
They’re not perfect. They might cork the sharpness,
but they cannot smooth it.
And the times when I need their comfort most,
when the weight of voices, bodies, auras
tries to crush me and all I want is silence,
they become invisible. Strangers direct questions my way
as if they’re not even there. Comments
that need responses I’m too weary,
too flattened, to give.
I can still hear every word, and each one ties me with the cord of obligation
to reach for my social mask,
the one I thought I’d shed months ago.
I wear sky blue ear defenders to dull the threatening hum of the world.
They’re armour to protect me, but even armour
cannot save me from arrows.
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