I begin to think some people go deaf in self defence
and perhaps the same extends to the other four senses.
As noise becomes unbearable, do we just shut it out
and sacrifice the birdsongs as well as the shouts?

And though we’d lose caresses too, do we insulate our skin
from the constant push and shove we immersed ourselves in?
When dietary guidelines become too much of a chore
do we decide food isn’t very interesting anymore?

Would we forego the wild rose scent just so we could shun
the smell of car exhaust and garbage rotting in the sun?
When flashing lights and gory sights make us close our eyes
will we forget to open them to a rainbow or sunrise?

It’s tempting, oh so tempting, to shut down in self defence
but I won’t because I got a message from my sixth sense
that says to make my sensory receptors more selective,
like sponges for the good stuff, for the bad stuff like reflectors.

#209