Silence in Suburbia
by magique

He came from the country, for work or, perhaps, something else
Equally unglamorous,
To a suburb near the city where a silence he’s unused to reigns.

Silence in suburbia is a car door slamming
on drunken fingers
and the howl that seems to echo in the dark.
Silence in suburbia is hearing birds tweeting,
kettles whistling, mothers calling out
to children who will not wake.
Silence in suburbia is wailing babies and whining dogs,
Lawn mowers beginning their noisy path around the yard,
brakes squealing and engines roaring.
Silence in suburbia is children's footsteps running, screaming, down the street,
around the park,
Screaming down slides.
Silence in suburbia is the hum of traffic, the distant
shriek of an ambulance, police car, or racing fire truck
going who knows where.

To one from the country, where silence is...
silence in suburbia
is louder than bombs.