Does anybody hear
Does anybody hear
The sound of my breath
Escaping
Exasperated
Anxiously ragged and sour
After sleep
In exaltation
After a long walk
Who will hear what I hear
In the morning
As an early bird sings
Through a summer shower
When heavy rain hammers
Down on a tin roof
Never built to last
Whilst steam rises
As the heat of the sun
Warms the day.
Who will knead the knots
Out of my shoulders
In the early evening
Stretched out
Relaxed on a wide bed
Aching from the burden
Of life
Wash my feet
Cleansing the day away
From tired skin
Listen to the stories
I tell
About nothing in particular
Thoughts
That bubble up before they pop.
Who will care enough
To listen
To the nonsense
Jokes with mistimed punchlines
Facts no one else remembers
Or even cares to
Stories without bones
A verse with no rhyme.
Who will wait
Until the end of time
For the last words
The final breath
Barely able to draw
Their hand away
Lest they miss
A tug of recognition
A squeeze of sweet surrender.
Who will remember
The person I was
Before the fall
The decline
The steep descent
That begins with the end
And comes to us all
Who will whisper
Into my ear
Who will stay
Close enough to believe
What I say
Who will hear what I hear.