Instructions for a Small Noise

Set the spoon down carefully. Let it ring once against the mug, a small bright note for the kitchen to keep.

Listen for the zipper on your coat, the tap of a heel on the stair, the kettle clearing its throat before the water begins to speak.

Some sounds are not asking to be answered. The page turning. The key finding its lock. Your own breath, paused at the door with something it almost says.

Make room for the noise that fits in a pocket: a coin, a cough, the soft click of the lamp going dark.

Then leave one quiet thing untouched. A space beside the sentence. A little air where the next sound can choose its name.