Meaningless, the doctor says.
He can barely hear the sound—
really a tiny click—or make out
on the screen the out-of-synch
ventricle flap that shuts
an instant too late.

Harmless, he pronounces,
removing the sticky prod,
and I think of street people
murmuring
to no one in particular,
the steady, background sound
of a machine that doesn't want
or need attention,

while others may murmur
for months or years
and then without warning,
attack,
furious that no one came close
to listen.

Maria Terrone's poems have appeared in many literary magazines, including Poetry, Crab Orchard Review, Poet Lore, Atlanta Review and in 1999, on WebDelSol. Her manuscript, The Bodies We Were Loaned, was a finalist for the 2000 University of Wisconsin Press Poetry Series, and in 1998 she received the Allen Tate Memorial Award. A resident of New York City, Maria Terrone is the director of public relations for Hunter College.

 Maria

 Terrone