when I was seven
I dreamed of swimming
out into the exact middle
of the Pacific Ocean
the taste of saltwater
probably easier to stomach
than the liquor shots we need
just to be around each other
drowning under the pressure
of young adulthood
I swear I was only seven
when I realized
I was a perpetual listener
attracted to slow sounds
and the comfort of quiet
it was twelve years ago
I predicted that
someday the noises of the city
would flood my consciousness
and suffocate my spirit