Earbud, a poem by Bill Holm

I subscribe to the American Life in Poetry email offerings, poems selected by Ted Kooser for inclusion in newspapers weekly around the country.  Sometimes it's necessary to share.  It's by Bill Holm, a poet from Minnesota who recently died, leaving a big Norwegian hole in the world of poetry.    Kooser says he and Holm shared a reluctance to embrace new technologies.  

Earbud

Earbud--a tiny marble sheathed in foam
to wear like an interior earring so you
can enjoy private noises wherever you go,
protected from any sudden silence.
Only check your batteries, then copy
a thousand secret songs and stories
on the tiny pod you carry in your pocket.
You are safe now from other noises made
by other people, other machines, by chance,
noises you have not chosen as your own.
To get your attention, I touch your arm
to show you the tornado or the polar bear.
Sometimes I catch you humming or talking to the air
as if to a shrunken lover waiting in your ear.