Noise of Life, Please!
Down the next courtyard was a laundry
With washing machines droning night and day
The washing woman languid like a barrel
Cats and kids clinging the tower of Babel
One day weird it was deserted for no reason
For weeks Laundry uncollected in rain and sun
Fruits fallen and rotten on the ground
No human, even the cats were not around
Then this morning I hear the early din
Looking over I see fresh washings on line
The woman cooking and a baby wailing
And the cats jumping the roof and railing
Be there clatter of plate and spoon
Be there children prattling at noon
Be there even the roaring of traffic
Better than silence after the pandemic