I want you to hear the silence
I want you to notice the nothingness
To feel awkward when you make a noise
To feel the outward pressure of the void

Pushing out on your temples
You can feel your brain expanding within
Throbbing from the lack of stimulation
I want you to hear the silence

It’s okay to be quiet
You need not any approval
…. Do you hear that?
You hear nothing….
….You speak nothing
But…
….What you truly feel
In this moment….
…Is at ease…

A paper thin film boils over a white lake
A black fog in the middle
It’s sort of grey
My eyes are peeling back

The red vines beneath ache
Tugging for attention
I no longer seek

Pours are poor for crows that beneath
Break when I smirk
Upon my face

The red vines inside me rip
A privileged date

Blind but noticed
I no longer seek

Slipping beneath this

Thin
White
Lake

Blackness is here but
I hold my breath
Swimming down into a deeper depth
A paper thin film over my thoughts
Remaining my own
I keep them in the dark

~J.B.