THIRTEEN THINGS I HEARD WHEN I
CLOSED MY EYES AND LISTENED
1. windchimes, not just the chimes that hang on our balcony, but at least three other chimes from neighboring houses that were set in motion by the breeze;
2. a woodpecker in a nearby tree, invisible, yet distinctly noisy;
3. a dog, barking in the distance, barely discernible in the hubbub of morning traffic;
4. children at play on a nearby school playground;
5. a delivery truck's steady reverse warning beeper;
6. two men in conversation, out of sight, their voices muffled by the wind;
7. the wind as it sighed through the poplar trees surrounding our apartment building;
8. the crack and pop of ice cubes in my glass of water;
9. my cat, Toby's, continuous purr;
10. the train that carries gypsum from local quarries, approaching a neighboring town;
11. a washer in the laundry room, loudly protesting an uneven load;
12. robins' twitter;
13. two crows' amorous conversation as they built their nest in a pine tree just off our balcony.
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