Topic:  What if

By Larry Meath

(The actual topic was “If Only” but failure to read carefully combined with old age resulted in the following poem.

It happened so suddenly

My ears had quit ringing

As I stepped onto the deck

And the birds had stopped singing.

It struck me as odd

That those sounds so sweet

Were replaced by the roars

Of only cars on the street.

I stepped back inside

And spotting my guitar,

I plucked an old tune

But the sounds were bizarre.

Instead of a melody

Or chords that were soothing,

The only sounds to be heard

Were cacophonous and bruising.

Now in a panic

I searched on the dial

For a musical station

And sounds less vile.

But all I could find

As I searched out in vain

Were the rantings of people

And news filled with pain.

“What’s happened to the music?”

I screamed out aloud.

The world has gone crazy

Sounds are wrapped in a shroud.

No matter my efforts

The results were the same:

The music was gone.

Was I going insane?

But as quickly as it started

I realized no harm

As I sleepily reached out

And turned off my alarm.