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Todd Wooten

The Illusion of Silence

Updated: Nov 6, 2023

Black and white insects scurry

on the rabbit ear TV screen.

Bent and twisted. Playing catch

and release with the faint signal.

Scarecrow of the eighties

more suited for hanging clothes.


Dad's tongue bit in concentration.

Efforts to lick the invisible images.

Eardrums smacked with the static while

cupped hands swat away the buzz.


Deep inside the border of closed eyes

a voice notes each irrelevant detail.

Like a passenger on an interstate drive

who reads every billboard out loud.


Silence ruined in a quiet space.

Faces reflect from fun house mirrors.

Mutters erupt from channel three.

Volume numbers move.

Children learn to count


Images focus. Distraction grabs a chair.

My brain flips through channels as I walk away.

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