Ode to Silence

By Meredith Mead

Published in the 2023 journal.

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Thank you, Dad,

for that pair of pink camouflage headphones

you gave me back in ninth grade.

They’re round

ugly

but durable enough to lessen the sound

of ripping bullets.

You bought them so we could go shooting.

We did that only once and I

thought I would never use them again

until I got a roommate.

Turns out, noise canceling headphones

block out caterwauling TikToks

and the screams of late-night movies

just as well as

the explosions of target practice.

So thank you, Dad.

Thank you for the bulky, tacky camouflage headphones.

I may look like an idiot

but I have kept my sanity,

and they have made all the difference.