My mother's voice broke all volume rules.
The phrases “speak softly” or “lower your tone”
were never, ever taken seriously.
There were so many times when I could hear her,
especially down the hallways of her workplace
and I would follow the words, the pitch, and the melody
until I found her and then I would remind her to please use
her inside voice because, goodness, Mom,
people in outer space can hear you.
But now my mother's voice is much lower and she tells
me it's only temporary and her doctor echoes the
same message. She needs to exercise those vocal
cords more and more to regain their strength.
One day, she says with hoarse and strained speech,
this too shall pass.
Yet as I walk down empty hallways, I pretend I hear
her signature voice and it's booming and loud, like she’s
an impatient sports coach or a passionate drill sergeant.
“Those people in outer space, Mom,” I whisper to the silence,
“They want to hear you again.”
Darlene P. Campos earned her MFA in creative writing from the University of Texas at El Paso. When she's not writing, she enjoys reading, exercising, and going to museums. She is Ecuadorian-American and lives in Houston, TX with her husband and their eight rescue cats. Visit her website at www.darlenepcampos.com