Born left-side deaf
births an odd kind of voodoo;
“Answer people when they speak,” mother told her.
But if she does, wouldn’t that just encourage
further conversation?

Dead nerve endings
sustain their own allure for sure;
an advantageous kind of affliction.
The binary ability to switch from on to off
with one simple twist of the neck.

Split personality disorder
aside, she’s grateful for a side to hide in
when her sense of social duty
contrasts wildly with her stunning
lack of interest in direct human contact.

She’s left-side deaf
and if they come along too strong,
rambling rhetoric she’d rather not hear,
she could slit their throats, but chooses
just to wring her own neck instead.