communication in stay
by diy danna

I speak to him in silent movies
and the soundtrack is Graham Reynolds
playing funk organ at the Alamo Drafthouse
while soldiers on the screen drop like flies in soup
with 40% less sodium than the regular brand.

I speak to him in Morse code,
tapping my feet to the rhythm of his music-
sending out an “S-O-S”…
But the lady on the radio drowns the sound
and the tinnitus of heartache rings.

People talk too much and don’t listen enough,
to the loops and feedback, bleeps and bloops
of pertinent data to discern the root of the tale,
tangled and buried underneath crossed cables-
vessels of the homo sapiens heart.

Soderbergh’s communication breakdown masterpiece
is drowned out by the Led Zeppelin remix overdub
on the drive-in movie screen while we make out-
and “she’s climbing- she’s climbing- she’s climbing…”
my nails scratch your back because I’m speechless.

Now you’re on a cruise somewhere in the gulf
sending me flag signals I can’t see from the shore,
and I’ve stopped waiting for the code to break
and reveal my secret message to you-
to stay in communication.