I am afraid
of noises miles away.
It’s like presence in a room
filled with
jazz
claps
bangs
all active at once—
fifty people talk in chorus.
Simultaneous listen
makes my tasks impossible
and activation of the switch
switches on the panic trigger.
The whisper approaches
from the room downstairs
smells
lights
vibrations
pseudo- sounds mask the
noticeable sound—phone
rings but just an air
conditioner. The worst sound
I hold is the continuous beeps
behind cacophony.
It’s just noise domination
with more noise elevation
embodied in the rebel
that lives deep in—
side my head.
I guess I can’t
be a firefighter
anymore.
Aminah Abutayeb is a full-time MFA candidate at Fairleigh Dickinson University concentrating on poetry. She is an Assistant Editor at The Literary Review and currently works at the Writing Center in William Paterson University. Her poem is forthcoming in Common Ground Review. She lives in Northern New Jersey.