CHIPS IN MY EARS
Joshua Gray
Listen to the frozen silence of my childhood. Listen
as sound escapes these ears, like it always has.
Was it music or measles that caused this deficit?
I still remember those fat earphones I wore...
I remember middle school. I remember the boy
who walked around with a blue baseball cap
covering curly red hair. An aid limped over his left ear,
transforming itself, altering his voice, keeping it
mechanical, strained. His plastic ear kept him
from life. Embarrassed, I froze.
I have lived my life pretending the mere sound
of speech is enough, regardless of the words
themselves. You have two chances to speak up,
then I’ll construe those sounds myself. No liability
Here. But enough. Screw vanity. Vulnerability
takes too much effort. I’ve decided to hear
what I hadn’t. Now, I baby-sit computer chips
in my ears; microphones announce sound
Through these fragile pets, and I listen
to the hum I make as I thaw.
