Aluminum tent poles ring against the pavement, vibrating eardrums even at a distance, backs of tables slam one against the other, stacking up.

Why can't we turn our hearing off?
We can close our eyes. Are ears
sentinels, always open, always awake?

Portland Sate University campus. Two students singe lungs into billowing dark clouds. A man climbs down library's steps, spreading an umbrella's ribs...

Gusts of wind, a few drops
of rain, thundering
                in the distance...

If it's not one God,
               it's another.