Don’t Speak

The conflict between

our neighbors’ complex

and ours

rears and gores, blusters and buffets

the frail white fence,

bulls down all indoor thought with outdoor noise:

the echoes of a publicly traded argument,

a heart’s dismay on public radio.

My own thoughts

run down by the stampede of sound

replaced by hardier weeds:

the wish to throw

the window open

and lance at them a shriek —

for a precious moment, darling strangers

who are neighbors

don’t speak.