jeffrey allen tobin

Quiet Rooms

Distance, like a well-worn coat,
settles heavy on my shoulders—
an awkward fit, yet familiar.
I tailor silence from the fabric of days
gone without speaking,
a threadbare peace patched over old wounds.

Family—those who share my blood
but not my bearing,
scatter across the landscape of my past
like buildings I once knew,
now landmarks on a map
I no longer follow.

Their words, when they come,
sound through the fog of dissonance,
a language I’ve unlearned deliberately.
We are islands, divided
by more than mere geography,
an ocean of mismatched memories
and unmet expectations.

I trace the contour of our detachment,
a deliberate demarcation
between what was and what is.
In this space I’ve carved for myself,
freedom breathes quietly,
a soft exhale in an empty room.

The gatherings I miss,
echo with the laughter of ghosts
I no longer grieve.
My absence is a note left unsung
in the family chorus—
discordant, perhaps,
to those who do not understand the music
of my solitude.

I cultivate solitude
like a secret garden,
walls ivied with the luscious green of autonomy.
Here, the roots of my being
delve deep into the soil of self,
nourished by the distance I keep.

I am whole in the hollows between us,
finding in each hollow breath
a filling of my own making.
Not out of spite,
not out of sorrow—
but out of a need to breathe
unfiltered air.

I choose this distance
not because I harbor no love,
but because I love myself enough
to nurture peace where there was none.
Family remains,
a quiet echo in the canyons of my heart—
respected,
recognized,
but reached across a bridge
I cross only when strong enough
to carry nothing back.

Jeffery Allen Tobin is a political scientist and researcher based in South Florida. His extensive body of work primarily explores U.S. foreign policy, democracy, national security, and migration. Currently affiliated with Florida International University, he contributes to both the academic community and policymaking sphere. He has been writing poetry and prose for more than 30 years.