Meant To Leave Us Wondering

It might have been the alarm blurring empty air
with raucous nonsense, or the semi-comatose
guests seemingly unruffled, unimpressed by a
fuss they cared less about than taking morning
showers – dressing for a day that took primacy.
But a strange dissonance descended.

Call it surreal if you must but there was
nothing to suggest we were moments
away from a fate we may have deserved.
No footsteps running or calls of fear, no
widespread foment; instead the sound
filled in where we took no heed.

Eventually it ceased; just as abruptly as it
had begun it disappeared. Silence had no
use for the vague sense of unease which
reclaimed space without relief. Perhaps we
survived something we never could understand.
Or perhaps it was meant to leave us wondering.
© 11 January 2008, I. D. Carswell