Learning how he feels....................................

A man takes out his hearing aid
and falls asleep, his good ear deep
in the pillow.  Thousands of bats
fly out of the other ear.
All night they flutter and dive
through laughter, catching the punch lines,
their ears all blood and velvet.
At dawn they return. The weary squeaks
make the old stone cavern ring
with gibberish. As the man awakens,
the last of the bats fold into sleep.
His ear is thick with fur and silence.
-Ted Kooser
The Man with the Hearing Aid