Don't Speak
Silence is…
Wait music.
“No comment.”
Charlie Chaplin.
Desert islands.
Violence.
Lambs.
Nondisclosure agreements.
Space between arguments.
Noise complaints.
Party lines.
Ghosting.
Not talking.
Subtitles.
Unopened emails.
Nonverbal.
Busy signals.
New people.
First dates.
Crickets.
Static.
GIFs.
Two blue tick marks.
Sidebars.
Writer’s block.
With hands on hearts.
The time since you’ve called your parents.
The train during announcements.
The end credit sequence.
The AIDS epidemic.
Meditations.
Negotiations.
Call waiting.
Mute buttons.
That movie with Emily Blunt.
Unanswered questions.
United Nations walk-outs.
Official statements.
“I need to talk to you.”
Awkward comments.
Cats.
Sleeping newborns.
“In breach of community guidelines” bans.
Moments.
Deleting of an account.
Test-taking.
Retreats.
Introverts.
Elevators.
Hybrid cars.
Jump scares.
Gag orders.
Rainstorms.
Radius clauses.
Power outages.
Politeness.
Manners.
Absence.
Telemarketers.
Outer space.
Reading rooms.
Nurseries.
Libraries.
Emojis.
Dinner parties.
Dead batteries.
Reading corners.
Indecision.
Theatres.
The number thirteen.
Do Not Disturb signs.
Solo flights.
Red eyes.
Spies.
That point on the trail where you can no longer hear the road.
Drum solos.
Ghosts?
Oaths.
“We used to be close.”
Divorce.
Small animals.
Simon and Garfunkle.
Vigils.
Places of worship.
Censorship.
Pregnant pauses.
Rihanna’s next album.
(but seriously…?)
Incomplete lists.
What else?
People
Zoe Marquedant, is a writer from New York. She earned her B.A. from Sarah Lawrence College and her M.F.A. from Columbia University. Her work has been featured in the Analog Cookbook, VEE, SIZL, and Talk Vomit. Follow @zoenoumlaut
