Living With Animals

My neighbours imitate

the sounds of animals

entire evening:

high-pitched barks and yips of coyotes

scaring the shit out of every denizen;

piercing whining calls like seagulls and whales at the sea

even though all we have here

it’s just a reminiscent of the ebb

with mud covering a stretch of land

instead of the river

shallow as the creatures around;

orangutans also have five minutes here

kiss squeak of agitated males

long calling each other among buildings – rainforest trees for them;

chickens cluck on the balcony

didn’t I mishear it?

Yes! This is happening, it’s not a laugh

although you couldn’t recognise it

if you listened to it on the radio

no vision aided from time to time by the view from my window;

young girls quack and honk

like ducks and geese in unison

assisted by males

metamorphosed

in goats

‘Baa!’

I have never understood their language ;

in addition to that

sniffing stinking sounds

I can hear the noise of football being played

through the balcony door

and the flat downstairs in its entirety

where someone stomps like a heavy elephant

all evening

producing auditory effects

resembling roosters

with their ‘Cock-a-doodle-do!’;

there are not many dogs here

yet

some of my neighbours are simulating them

howling, whimpering, and growling all the time

as if they lived in a zoo, and not in a human apartment;

parrots chatter, laugh, scream, and shriek

not letting me breathe

through the pores

of my soul;

in some cases, even a donkey may arise

with its braying ‘Hee-haw!’ shrill;

during the day all seems to be quiet

as night falls, there is another subject

descending into the air

‘cause everyone swallows a pill of noise

reaching high decibels

and captured in time

through my sensitive eyes and ears –

perfect camera shutter

to record any deviation from the norm

*

September 2021

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Thank you for reading!