Thread: Listening

we hear
running up and down stairs,
slamming doors,
creaking beds.
and know their life
all too well.
for them
the house next door
is empty.

I can easily follow the sentiment in this one. It reeks of an alienating city life. May I suggest changing "house" to "flat"? To have the parts live closer to each other, I think it would strengthen the metaphor and also make the listening more plausible. And how about adding an "in" in the title? To further imply that tendency of judging I believe you're aiming for...