Headphones

Bluetooth headphones over my ears
Masking my senses from the world
Silencing the yells and turmoil outside of the headphones
And blinding me,
Designing my characters strong enough to protect me.

But now I take off my headphones,
Hanging them loosely around my neck,
Listening to my father’s pained sighs,
My sister talking about her dreams of moving out while my father shuts her down,
My brother hiding in his room behind a monitor
My other sister studying for HSC,
My mother ignoring my father.

I take off my headphones and listen to it all.