The Listening Room

I made a room inside my day

where nobody gets to interrupt me.

No phone buzzing like a bee,

no “be positive,”

No rushing to fix the feeling

before it finishes speaking.

﹁﹂

At first it was awkward.

Silence has a sound, you know?

Like a refrigerator hum

and my own breath

coming in uneven.

﹁﹂

I sat on the floor with a cheap candle

and watched the flame hesitate.

That’s when I realized

My emotions do that too

they flicker, lean,

Try to disappear if you stare too hard.

﹁﹂

So I didn’t stare.

I listened.

Sadness said it was tired

of being called dramatic.

Anger said it wanted a job

besides protecting me.

﹁﹂

Even joy showed up,

late, suspicious,

Like it didn’t trust the invitation.

I told it, okay,

You can sit by the door.

﹁﹂

Some feelings cried.

Some just sat there

with their arms crossed.

I let them.

﹁﹂

This is what I’m practicing:

making space

without turning it into a performance,

letting my heart speak in its own accent

until the room feels less haunted

and more like home.