I Can Hear A Pin Dropp In China Poem by richard ilnicki

I can hear a pin dropp in China

when i am alone,
quarantined off limts and forbidden
to communicate,
cooped-up in a room
with nothing but my thoughts,
some lonely corner of my mind,
i find an exponential degree
of isolation squeezing me
out into the open.
an obstreperous vacuous emptiness
surrounds me; my website
has no legs, no spider weaving
intrigue to wrap and prepare me
for the existential bite.
in this undeclared time zone
i can hear a pin dropp in china,
and furthermore
i can hear the grass growing.
all that is left then
in this semi-private room
i am sharing with death
is the rhythmic beating of a guilty heart,
a silent sound begging me to confess
that i desire to be sealed
beneath the rotting floorboards
with the one i love.

richard ilnicki