The Tinnitus Ocean

The hiss inside my head persists inwards
towards the hollow eardrum driving madness
outward as if a gagged nightingale lay choked,
the world observing meaning in its silence.
The fears beneath my feet take the steps
from my journeys, a thousand miles of loss.
While inside the map the ink refills the compass
fingers stained blue on the warning of wrecks.


John G.Hall