Oops… This should’ve been put in A Cappellas/spoken word I think…


Mutton Jeff.

over years unnoticed sounds fell
off the edge of his spectrum

compensating for the loss
of high-frequency sibilants and fricatives

by maxxing out volume or turning up
treble on tvs & radios

hand-cupping an ear
to enlarge the receiving dish

later new digital hearing aids reminded him
of all he’d been missing

the biggest revelation in his garden,
his silent footfall in mulch now deafening

sometimes I go outside he confides
just to hear the crunch of the leaves…


(Text © rob walker, 2015. From Original Clichés, Ginninderra Press, 2016.)
https://www.amazon.com/Original-Cliches-Rob-Walker/dp/1760411272