So Much Noise (Poem)

So Much Noise

You wield words the way the
surgeon grasps his scalpel to
slash away at the cancer

in his path. You want to be
in control, decide against the
protocol of saying nothing more.

The experts all have their opinions,
never seem to learn why noise
can never be about our future.

It takes so much imagination to
pretend your tongue can be still
when your throat starts to clear

its passage to the stomach. So
what if that rash on your ears
burns with the effort to hear

the sour notes being played to
get your attention. You'd think
the way truth and lies get told

and repeated would be enough
to signal how you'll resist the
odds, even after the results come in.

© 2016 Maureen E. Doallas