I'm not good with noise
I'm deaf - I struggle

I hear most vowels,
But not all consonants,
And the odd schwa
Will easily confuse,
So my brain is made
To fill those gaps
With ever decreasing success.

Background noise is often lost;
But is sometimes over-found and yells.
Leaving some conversations adrift,
Dropping the spoken word forever into an abyss,
Driving me wild with distraction.

I admire those who can lipread
Who can perfectly interpret every social situation:
Deaf, or otherwise,
I know I often lack those skills.

So when I get away from that speaker,
And sit in a quieter place,
It might be because the noise is too much.
It might be because I'm feeling timid,
Or it might be because I want the space and silence,
To distill, to listen, or write.