Poem

"The Quiet World"

In an effort to get people to look
into each other's eyes more,
the government has decided to allot
each person exactly one hundred
and sixty-seven words, per day.

When the phone rings,
I put itto my ear without saying hello.
In the restaurant I point
at chicken noodle soup.
I am adjusting well to the new way.

Late at night,
I call my long distance lover
and proudly say
I only used fifty-nine today.
I saved the rest for you.

When she doesn't respond,
I know she's used up all her words
so I slowly whisper I love you,
thirty-two and a third times.
After that, we just sit on the line
and listen to each other breathe.

-- Jeffrey McDaniel