Earbud by Bill Holm
This one comes from American Life in Poetry. Whether or not it was meant this way, I take it very tongue-in-cheek. I don’t own an mp3 player, nor do I particularly care for earbuds. Though I would love to have music all the time, I can’t help but think about how much I would miss (good and bad). Also, people who use them as an excuse to be totally unaware of their surroundings (and often rude and/or inconsiderate) really annoy me.
Earbud
By Bill Holm
Earbud—a tiny marble sheathed in foam
to wear like an interior earring so you
can enjoy private noises wherever you go,
protected from any sudden silence.
Only check your batteries, then copy
a thousand secret songs and stories
on the tiny pod you carry in your pocket.
You are safe now from other noises made
by other people, other machines, by chance,
noises you have not chosen as your own.
To get your attention, I touch your arm
to show you the tornado or the polar bear.
Sometimes I catch you humming or talking to the air
as if to a shrunken lover waiting in your ear.
