Deaf Ears Surrounding
Sorry that I’m coming to you with this again, I’m…
I’m really trying not to trouble you.
Feels like I become a burden so easily now.
Doing my best to be strong,
but it just doesn’t take much
to knock me down anymore.
I worry…
Am I thinking too much?
Making something out of nothing?
Am I being too dramatic?
Should I even be disturbed?
Am I looking too deeply
into the thing that he just said?
Is there even a problem?
Is there anything to see?
Am I going insane,
losing hold of my own head?
Am I right to feel blamed,
like I’m being targeted?
Am I less of a man
’cause I can’t fix my own issues?
Should I be letting this go
in a fit of forced forgiveness?
I don’t know…
I don’t mean to make you fight my war
but the days are not getting better.
Feels like I’ve blown out both my ears
trying to blow on all these whistles.
I really feel like there’s a problem here
that I can’t answer on my own.
Makes me wonder…
How does anyone get heard?
How does anyone get help?
In the workplace or in life,
where can the broken turn
when the support that surrounds us,
the people meant to love us,
comes apart like wet paper
when we need to fall in their arms?
What do I need to say
to convince you this is real
or am I doomed to daily spiral
in an invisible abuse?
What magical string of words
will make my plight appear?
How loud do I have to get
to finally turn some heads?
Should I even be worried?
Is this problem even real?
So I guess what I’m really trying to say is
a person will eventually
start running out of options.
I don’t have much faith in anything anymore.
9 thoughts on "Deaf Ears Surrounding"
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This poem made me sad….sometimes people are too involved to “hear”. Therapy helps.
Therapy does help. But you do bring up a good point. How much can one really be expected to help if they’re already dealing with a lot? I guess that’s why this kind of thing can be so difficult.
i hear many voices here.
like a call and response
or a field holler.
a choir of blues.
Interesting comment about the voices. I just tried to pack in all the different frustrations and doubts a struggling individual might have, so I guess that could have had the effect. Thank you for your comment.
I guess we all have had these questions echoing around in our heads at certain times. The title really sings! Really like these lines -“Feels like I’ve blown out both my ears
trying to blow on all these whistles.” Keep the faith!
So glad for the title comment. I had a really hard time coming up with it.
And yes, those questions are as universal as the storms that inspire them. Thank you for the comment!
Oughta surround yourself with different people. If they fall apart like wet paper for anyone else what’s the point. This narrator sounds scared to open up and at the same time scared to let go of whatever theyre worried about. Scary spot to be In.
Yes, this narrator is in that moment of realizing he needs to make a change, but hasn’t quite figured out what to do with it. Part of his problem (and this could probably have been made clearer) is his issue is in the workplace, so he can’t really escape it, besides giving up the job, but that’s a lot more difficult to do right. It’s a very tough situation.
Yes, I agree with others, this is very universal.