Partition

The pipes are humming in the wall.

I hear the neighbors in the hall.

A chair goes scraping on the floor.

It sounds like weeping, or a door

that's catching on a rug.

The television gives a shrug

of static through the headboard wood.

I'd stop the noise if I could.

The drywall's thin and very weak.

It lets the heavy secrets leak.

I'm lying here in the dark

waiting for the dog to bark.