Hearing All- Sensory Overload  

The clock is ticking

I can hear you chewing

Your breathing is uneven

Something keeps knocking the chair

You keep trying to talk

I can hear the sound of your fork

as it scrapes across your plate

To me, it’s like chalk scraping across slate

I have to reply but I have to shut off

Maybe I’ll pretend to be ill, cough

Imagine it’s me in a space,

Every little noise is knocking into me

In and out of pace

All this noise is confining me, I need to break free

It gets me so angry

I get so caught up

Looking down, I’m trying to smile

Hands tight around my tea cup

On the outside I’m silent

On the inside I’m screaming

Shut up, shut up, shut up!

Please.

I need silence and peace and time

I’m not crazy, I promise

Just sometimes the noises can be too much

and I need silence to hear the singing of my mind.