No
that wasn’t an earthquake you heard
not a peal of thunder
not a cannon ejaculating pig iron balls.
It was not a building collapsing
or a car backfiring
or a elementary school dismissal
on the lower east side.

This was nothing so prosaic.
This was nothing so simple
like a sun in supernova
or the applause after Queen Bey’s latest.
This was no simultaneous five truck collision
or even Uncle Morty
after some bean dip.

It was nothing real you heard
but rather
the potential
of the sound
of the thud
of all my hopes
crashing in the sidewalk
if you won’t go out with me.

It’s pretty loud
that future sound
and it would no doubt hurt your pretty little ears
I’ll bet
if you had to hear it again
so
shall I repeat the question?