Paul screams.
He is not hurt.
This is not an emergency.
He tests the soundscape.
Much of the soundscape
is beyond human capacity to hear.
Just like more of the scent-scape
is available for dogs.
Every animal goes quiet
as Paul’s scream
echos off the mountainside
and pinballs through the tall pines.
The wind ignores him.
The lake threatens
to drag him under and drown him
if he does it again.
Paul does not understand the danger.
The lake’s voice is beyond his hearing.
Just like the voices of the dead
are beyond his hearing.
In the wake of his scream
Paul remains quiet
until and beyond
the animal sounds returning.
He checks his compass.
North moved a fraction of a degree southeast.
But not enough for Paul’s eye or compass
to register the change.
He wonders why God created humans
so large amounts of data is unavailable to them.
God replies Use it or Lose it.
But the sentence is beyond Paul’s hearing.
copyright © 2021 Kenneth P. Gurney
Umflop 