i no pod.

I enjoy the chump-chump of rubber soles on institutional carpeted halls, of the

squeak of dry skin on a hand rail,

the creak of a leather bag

swinging softly, its dull

thud against a door as it narrowly

skirts through behind its wearer;

I hear the refrain of a once-popular tune playing, tinny, issuing forth from a desktop radio.  It echoes inside my head, and turns into a hum that doesn't quite reach beyond the interior of its fleshy mechanism.

I imagine hearing the song in its entirety, delivered through a set of delicate, doll-like wires and eardrop speakers, tucked discreetly away from public view, being fed by a tiny, modular electronic device, clever, chic, simple, complex.

I recognize the allure of dimming the exterior noise

of quieting the absorption of the outside world;

I see the benefit in shutting out the unwanted, bright, kaleidoscope stimulus of the too much that is exposure to social existence.

I swing my bag, its leathery voice singing in my hand.

I hear the beeps, and dings, the footsteps, the chatter -- the rain, steady and rythmic, all colliding in a din of chorusing, clashing melded melodic medley.

I listen, unimpeded, to this organic soundtrack.

Comments

[bubandpie]

ah, me too.

[qt]

me too - but i do like my music out in the open, so to speak.

Lovely work as usual, Ms. Deb -I'll make you whatever you like!

[Oh, The Joys]

Mmmm. Mix it all up.

[dodo]

being in the world can sometimes take the most enormous effort and fortitude. it can be exhausting. but I love that you're in it.

[Mrs. Chicky]

Uh huh, ditto. I understand the allure but when it comes right down to it I like to hear the world, not completely shut it out.

[Andrea]

Sometimes, hearing the world is harsh. But sometimes, the right mix of elements are in place, and the world can tinkle like the tiny bell on the collar of a cat prancing about the room in confident glory.

I love those sounds. Maybe not shut it out, but put a small filter on it.

[Ruth Dynamite]

I no pod too, because the second I plug in would be the second (a) my house burns down, (b)an attacker jumps me from behind, or (c) Oprah calls.

The cacophony of my daily life suits me fine, thankyouverymuch.