The Hum in the Room

There's a strange noise all around me. And I can't find where it's coming from. It woke me up at about three o'clock in the morning.

It sounds like a truck, parked outside with the engine running. Or a pump, filling a tank or draining it. It's not in my house... but when I go outside, the noise is quieter, and then it gets louder when I come back indoors.

I don't like not knowing what it is.

Gradually
We became aware
Of a hum in the room
An electrical hum
In the room
It went mmmmmm

We followed it
From corner to corner
We pressed our ears
Against the walls
We crossed diagonals
And put our hands
On the floor
It went mmmmmm

Sometimes it was
a murmur
Sometimes it was
a pulse
Sometimes it seemed
to disappear
But then with a quarter-turn
Of the head
It would
Roll around the sofa
A nimbus humming cloud

Mmmmmm

Maybe it's the hum
Of a calm refrigerator
Cooling the big night
Maybe it's the hum
Of our parents' voices
Long ago in a soft light

Mmmmmm

Maybe it's the hum
Of changing opinion
Or a foreign language
In prayer
Maybe it's the mantra
Of the walls and wiring
Deep breathing
In soft air

Mmmmmm

Lyrics: Paul Simon Music: Philip Glass