No Words

No Words

No words
I have nothing
An empty space, more vacuum than vessel
Only the rotational flushing of a dishwasher
And the ticking of a clock
Mind blank, devoid of thought
Falling short of inspiration,
Caught, somehow suspended without motion
In a bottomless chasm
Soundless, the darkness offers nothing
But still, the click, click, click of fork against plate
Hastily loaded, carelessly stacked
Oblivious to absence, salt-water and detergent drenched
For a moment, I am wrenched
Through plastic pipes and metal filters
Dragged and drained
But then, this too comes to an end
Its cycle done, even as my mind still turns
Over and over, an isolated satellite
Orbiting the void, solitary, lost
In space and in meaning
Coupled with the constant
Ticking of a clock.

23/11/21