Rosanne Limoncelli

THOSE LOUD NEIGHBORS

I am disturbed by voices
not imaginary ones from my crumbling sanity
but the all-too-real voices that permeate
the walls that surround me and from the ceiling above
unavoidable-inescapable-thundering noise

I cannot verify
if they are screaming with glee
or for help-help-help
help me
in one moment I'm sure
that one or more women
are being brutally-violently-noisily defiled
and in the next instant-second-moment
I’m certain they are
cheering for a goal on TV

is that kicking-pounding-banging
above my head
an expression of unadulterated (adult) joy
an explosion of (not-so) private pleasure
or an unleashing of vitriolic violence
an eleventh-hour entreaty for ecstatic escape

perhaps I am paranoid
there is much evidence to that as
previous investigations of mine
have only revealed sardonic looks and middle fingers
these erstwhile lessons have taught me to
mind my own business
to live and let live
but if I do
will it be Kitty Genovese all over again
in which case live and let die

HOW LONG CAN I HOLD BACK
from running screaming upstairs with a gun
to catch them or save them or stop them
to put an end to the reason-occasion-justification
for the deafening disturbance

or should I just shoot myself?


Rosanne reads "Those Loud Neighbors":



Subscribe to Channel 52 for first view of new videos.


Rosanne confesses: "'Those Loud Neighbors' was inspired by some folks who used to live upstairs. Lying awake in bed, very late at night, unable to sleep because of the noise, my imagination went wild. Could someone be in danger? Do I hold their life in my hands? Am I crazy? The frustration and anxiety eventually led to creativity."

ROSANNE LIMONCELLI teaches filmmaking and story writing for Tisch School of the Arts at New York University. I would rather be reading or writing crime fiction and poetry than anything else. My short stories have been published in Alfred Hitchcock’s Mystery Magazine and Suspense Magazine.