Tuesday, January 18, 2011

Chatter

The chatter at work fluctuates.
It is a silence punctuated by bursts of conversation and laughter.
A silly story from class is shared or perhaps a funny YouTube clip and laughter breaks out.
A juicy bit of gossip is retold and tongues run fast but quiet, evaluating, responding, and expanding.
The hours pass and the shifts change with salutations and farewells all around.
The sun shines and I smile.

The chatter of class is hushed.
The rapid clicks of keyboards under flying fingers.
There is the blink and flash of facebook notifications and new chat message alerts.
Silent laughter erupts and curious faces peer from behind their monitors.  
Tabs open and close, and the pretense of attention is given to the teacher, who, unperturbed, drones on.
The clicks continue and I smile. 

The chatter of home is noisy
The voices around me rise and fall,
I can hear the fierce exclamations, loud interjections, and laughing replies of the children's conversation.
There is the steady, deep tones of a man's voice as he reads a story book to his little brothers.
The vacuum hums loudly fading in and out of the conversation as it moves from room to room.
I look and listen and smile.

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