NOise

Spiraling noise

Vibrating keyboards

Jittering alarms

And another ticket

Numbing congestion

Routed this way and that

Swimming upstream

Paddling against the flow

Swerving erratically

Dodging, ducking, accelerating

Tuning out the interference

Stopping to pick up the trash

Assimilating to the mess

Kneading the knots

Sweeping away the dirt

Slowly paving a better street

Together, look beyond

Your stoop and your neighbors'

The woods and the waters

All reserve the right to respect

Let pride be the beginning

To take only enough

To relax the tangle

You create for yourself