Do you remember
when time stopped?
We were sitting on a bench
in that hotel
watching the people
and went into
unmediated
telepathic
brain to brain.
communication.
There was a lot to say
as usual but it would have required
expelling air through the glottis
creating a
drop in pressure
across the larynx
sufficient to reach the
threshold necessary for
for the vocal folds to oscillate
and who needed all that
when it was so perfect
being there
wordlessly
timelessly
together
until one of us
I think it was me
got hungry
or afraid
and broke the spell.
though we couldn’t have stayed
much longer.
Embodiment has its price
and would have sent the bill.
c. Edward Levy, 2019
.
The phonatory process, or voicing, occurs when air is expelled from the lungs through the glottis, creating a pressure drop across the larynx. When this drop becomes sufficiently large, the vocal folds start to oscillate. The minimum pressure drop required to achieve phonation is called the phonation threshold pressure,[1][2] and for humans with normal vocal folds, it is approximately 2–3 cm H2O.
A professional editor for over thirty years, Ed works in a variety of genres. His projects have received publishing and professional awards.