white noise

distant noise registers as loudly
as my own thoughts- water running,
jars opening, work shoes clicking
and clacking on ceramic substrate

internal noise and external noise
blending together, performing
clear raucous symphonies of
bicycle brakes squealing to a stop

can't separate what already has
became one- nothing left to lose,
nothing left to gain- only
me and my white noise and my thoughts or

what little's left of them, and i fear
that while i'm swept up with nothing
ev'rything gets swept from me
nothing to fix and nothing to break

sentences running into each other,
three-hundred-car highway pileups,
thoughts tossed together like they're
puzzle pieces from different sets-

can't focus, can't work, can't finish tasks
at designated hours-months-days;
at a rate of one second per second,
one second can turn into one minute,

and that minute turns

into one hour
into one day
into one week
into one month
into one year
into one life.