The sound of loneliness is
The lighting of a cigarette.
The noise of an all day Netflix binge.
A dog snoring in my bed, instead of a man.
The sound of loneliness is
My own voice thinking aloud and giving me pep talks.
The turning of pages in a book in dim light,
The shuffle of my feet as I pace across the floor.
The sound of loneliness is
The ignored notification dings on my phone,
And the clicking of keys as I text someone who doesn’t answer.
And audio books I don’t have to play through my headphones.
The sound of loneliness is
The tickle of a fish tank filter,
The soft rumble of its pump,
And hearing my parents talk in the next room because I moved back in.
The sound of loneliness is
A car pulling away,
A plane taking off,
A call being dropped.
The sound of loneliness is
Being sent straight to voicemail when I call,
The silence after I say “I love you”
The beating of my heart,
The taste of the salt in my tears.
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