Vise a Vice

She apologized for a noise
I didn’t even hear.

My life has required certain skills,
Segments pieced like a patchwork quilt.
How long have I appeased those
Who require blood for spilt milk?

Have I accepted as necessary conditions
Excessive exactions?
Am I allowing gouging
In daily transactions?

I asked what damage her noise caused;
Was it sharp? Was it hard?
Did she swing it like an axe?
What harm did it cause?

She giggled like butterflies.

No harm No foul No apologies
For a noise.