Thru The Wall

Thru The Wall

I never knew what language they used
their voices muffled thru the wall
their tone was clear, without words

I understood it all nonetheless
They'd argue and yell, with nowhere to run
poverty & insecurity forced them to accept each other's jabs
no matter how damaging

They, too involved to be objective
I heard, as observer, at a safe distance,
all that kept them together

I heard, thru the walls, what was between them
even they couldn't have known what it was

I only noticed its effects when it seeped
through the drywall, punched pinholes through the wallpaper
just to ooze all over him and I as we laid together in my bed
"Shhh, just listen" he said. "Can you feel it?"

Thru the wall, their laughter wove tightly into the melody
and their heartbeats leapt up out of the drums 
I heard the echoes of the love they shared
through the records of reggae they played
and even though I couldn't see them

I always imagined them dancing quebradita
Holding tightly to each other
in perfect synch with the dancehall beats

Thru the wall, I believed the lyrics
told their stories and celebrated the sparkle of her eyes
and the strength of his shoulders and the contentment of those moments

As he tenderly twirled her around their own private bed,
'no vacancy', 'no kitchenette', one room slice of heaven
on the corner of Melrose and Wilton.

I heard her sobbing and pleading the night they took him away
Her muffled fear and tears and prayers for a few weeks after
I felt the pounding of the nail, attaching the eviction notice to her door

I heard it all, thru the wall
but I never heard their reggae records again