5 comments

Contemporary Funny Fiction

Earworm

I’m 

not a pop fan. 

Make it stop, man. 

Can’t you stop it? 

In a shop, it 

was the first time 

that I heard it 

(heard it for the first time), 

Yeah,

and it’s catchy. 

Who’s the tune by? 

It’s a loop now—

still repeating 

when I’m eating, 

when I’m sleeping.

Words are kinda sketchy; 

little bits of nonsense

put together with this:

Cling-clang boom-boom

Shaka-shaka snap-snap! 

It’s a mind trap. 

Shaka-shaka snap-snap! 

Shaka-shaka snap-snap! 

It’s a mind trap.

🎶 

So

there’s a rhythm 

that I’m keeping, 

and it’s this one.

Gotta find out 

(blows my mind out) 

what it’s about. 

Help me find the answer!

Who’s the artist? 

What’s the history? 

It’s a mystery. 

Do a web search 

for the lyrics… 

that’ll help me.

Words are kinda sketchy; 

little bits of nonsense

put together with this:

Cling-clang boom-boom

Shaka-shaka snap-snap! 

It’s a mind trap. 

Shaka-shaka snap-snap! 

Shaka-shaka snap-snap! 

It’s a mind trap.

🎶

Much

repetition

is a feature

of the lyrics,

and I find them 

uninspiring,

strange and sappy.

But the tune is snappy!

Has a good beat.

It’s on repeat:

snares’ staccato

strike is smashing;

basses pounding,

cymbals clashing.

Words are kinda sketchy; 

little bits of nonsense

put together with this:

Cling-clang boom-boom

Shaka-shaka snap-snap! 

It’s a mind trap. 

Shaka-shaka snap-snap! 

Shaka-shaka snap-snap! 

It’s a mind trap.

🎶

It’s

always present—

just a snippet.

Play the whole song?

Maybe that will

solve the problem.

(But it doesn’t.)

Made myself a playlist.

It’s annoying. 

It’s destroying 

concentration. 

In the background, 

it’s the soundtrack 

for my life now. 

Words are kinda sketchy; 

little bits of nonsense

put together with this:

Cling-clang boom-boom

Shaka-shaka snap-snap! 

It’s a mind trap. 

Shaka-shaka snap-snap! 

Shaka-shaka snap-snap! 

It’s a mind trap.

🎶

So

every day I

listen to it

from the start and

to the finish,

hoping it will 

soon diminish—

Satiate my brain cells.

But it doesn’t.

Here it comes now;   

repetition

of a fragment, 

with the drumbeats 

and the cymbals.

Words are kinda sketchy; 

little bits of nonsense

put together with this:

Cling-clang boom-boom

Shaka-shaka snap-snap! 

It’s a mind trap. 

Shaka-shaka snap-snap! 

Shaka-shaka snap-snap! 

It’s a mind trap.

🎶

And

now I’m listening

to some other

music genres

to distract me,

but it’s hopeless.

And I can’t think,

‘cause it made my brain shrink.

I would settle

for another 

piece of music

taking over

this relentless

repetition.

Words are kinda sketchy; 

little bits of nonsense

put together with this:

Cling-clang boom-boom

Shaka-shaka snap-snap! 

It’s a mind trap. 

Shaka-shaka snap-snap! 

Shaka-shaka snap-snap! 

It’s a mind trap.

🎶

I’ve

tried some New Age,

Bossa Nova,

country, folk songs,

operettas,

easy listening

classic rock and

heavy metal head bang.

All I hear is

this tune, playing,

always worming 

through my ears and

taking over

thoughts and actions. 

Words are kinda sketchy; 

little bits of nonsense

put together with this:

Cling-clang boom-boom

Shaka-shaka snap-snap! 

It’s a mind trap. 

Shaka-shaka snap-snap! 

Shaka-shaka snap-snap! 

It’s a mind trap.

🎶

I

called the doctor.

“Am I crazy?

Memory is

getting hazy—

all except for

this dilemma.

Don’t know how to stop it.”

But the doctor 

only laughed and   

didn’t bother

to consider

my condition

to be harmful.

Words are kinda sketchy; 

little bits of nonsense

put together with this:

Cling-clang boom-boom

Shaka-shaka snap-snap! 

It’s a mind trap. 

Shaka-shaka snap-snap! 

Shaka-shaka snap-snap! 

It’s a mind trap.

🎶

“Oh,

Doc,” I pleaded,

“Let me come in.

When you see me,

you will realize

my affliction

needs some treatment.

Anything can trigger!”

So he saw me

in his office;

didn’t seem to

make an impact

even when I

sang it for him.

Words are kinda sketchy; 

little bits of nonsense

put together with this:

Cling-clang boom-boom

Shaka-shaka snap-snap! 

It’s a mind trap. 

Shaka-shaka snap-snap! 

Shaka-shaka snap-snap! 

It’s a mind trap.

🎶

“Well,

this condition,”

shrugged the doctor,

“has a name. It’s

very common.

Rather pesky,

but it’s harmless.

Musical obsession.

You could call it

mental hiccups,

neural nonsense,

or persistent

auditory

fabrication.”

Words are kinda sketchy; 

little bits of nonsense

put together with this:

Cling-clang boom-boom

Shaka-shaka snap-snap! 

It’s a mind trap. 

Shaka-shaka snap-snap! 

Shaka-shaka snap-snap! 

It’s a mind trap.

🎶

So, 

guess I get no

satisfaction,

resolution,

or assistance.

Now, I ask you,

what would you do?

Try a little self-help?

On a web search,

found suggestions:

walking faster,

walking slower,

chewing gum, or

working puzzles.

Words are kinda sketchy; 

little bits of nonsense

put together with this:

Cling-clang boom-boom

Shaka-shaka snap-snap! 

It’s a mind trap. 

Shaka-shaka snap-snap! 

Shaka-shaka snap-snap! 

It’s a mind trap.

🎶

All

right, I’ll try most

anything to

clear my brain of

this incessant,

irritating

composition.

(I’m not optimistic.)

I’ll go walking

at a pace that’s

anti-tempo;

break the chain of

throbbing rhythm,

pointless lyrics.

Words are kinda sketchy; 

little bits of nonsense

put together with this:

Cling-clang boom-boom

Shaka-shaka snap-snap! 

It’s a mind trap. 

Shaka-shaka snap-snap! 

Shaka-shaka snap-snap! 

It’s a mind trap.

🎶

I’ve 

tried a week of

walking backwards,

slower, faster,

skipping, twirling.

No relief; the

song is ceaseless.

Lost a pound a day, though!

Heading to the

store to get some

chewing gum. It’s 

known to work by

commandeering 

music memory.

Words are kinda sketchy; 

little bits of nonsense

put together with this:

Cling-clang boom-boom

Shaka-shaka snap-snap! 

It’s a mind trap. 

Shaka-shaka snap-snap! 

Shaka-shaka snap-snap! 

It’s a mind trap.

🎶

This

 big assortment 

of the gum sticks

cost me ten bucks.

But it’s worth it

if it blocks the

function of my 

auditory cortex

to remember 

words and rhythm

of the jingle.

As I’m chewing,

it is fading,

so I’m hoping…

Words are kinda sketchy; 

little bits of nonsense

put together with this:

Cling-clang boom-boom

Shaka-shaka snap-snap! 

It’s a mind trap. 

Shaka-shaka snap-snap! 

Shaka-shaka snap-snap! 

It’s a mind trap.

🎶

But

 every time I 

finish chomping,

here it comes—just

sneaking up and

taking over

my attention.

Now my jaw is aching.

Called my dentist.

Went to see him,

and explained the

great conundrum.

In the office,

it was playing…

Words are kinda sketchy; 

little bits of nonsense

put together with this:

Cling-clang boom-boom

Shaka-shaka snap-snap! 

It’s a mind trap. 

Shaka-shaka snap-snap! 

Shaka-shaka snap-snap! 

It’s a mind trap.

🎶

“Hey!

That’s the one!”

I shouted out,

so loud he dropped

his little mirror.

“Shut it off, please!

I can’t stand it!”

“Let me take some X-rays,”

he suggested.

When he read them,

he explained that

I’ve developed

a dysfunction

from the chewing.

Words are kinda sketchy; 

little bits of nonsense

put together with this:

Cling-clang boom-boom

Shaka-shaka snap-snap! 

It’s a mind trap. 

Shaka-shaka snap-snap! 

Shaka-shaka snap-snap! 

It’s a mind trap.

🎶

“Gum 

is off the list,”

he said to me,

“And you will need

an appliance

called a mouth guard.

(Hope they’re not expensive!)

“Your temporo-

mandibular

dysfunction is

the product of

a weakened jaw.

No gum for you!”

Words are kinda sketchy; 

little bits of nonsense

put together with this:

Cling-clang boom-boom

Shaka-shaka snap-snap! 

It’s a mind trap. 

Shaka-shaka snap-snap! 

Shaka-shaka snap-snap! 

It’s a mind trap.

🎶

Now 

the only thing

I haven’t tried

is something like

a puzzle that

will occupy 

my memory.

Crosswords or sudoku?

I tried them both;

then Rubik’s cube,

a game of chess,

and anagrams.

I fell asleep,

and there it came.

Words are kinda sketchy; 

little bits of nonsense

put together with this:

Cling-clang boom-boom

Shaka-shaka snap-snap! 

It’s a mind trap. 

Shaka-shaka snap-snap! 

Shaka-shaka snap-snap! 

It’s a mind trap.

🎶

Hey!

I’m obsessed now. 

It’s the best. How 

did I miss that?

It’s a winner!

Tops the charts, and

It’s a smash hit.

I can’t do without it.

There’s a rhythm

that I’m keeping,

and it’s this one. 

Has a good beat,

and it’s catchy.

Listen to it!

Words are kinda sketchy; 

little bits of nonsense

put together with this:

Cling-clang boom-boom

Shaka-shaka snap-snap! 

It’s a mind trap. 

Shaka-shaka snap-snap! 

Shaka-shaka snap-snap! 

It’s a mind trap.

What a mind trap!

(Yeah…)

🎶

June 10, 2023 03:00

You must sign up or log in to submit a comment.

5 comments

Mary Bendickson
16:42 Jun 10, 2023

Words are kinda sketchy... Oh, no! Thanks for that... Thought it would be hilarious for the doctor and the dentist to get the bug. Great poem, great use of prompt.

Reply

Cindy Strube
05:47 Jun 25, 2023

Well, don’t know what happened there… I replied, and then it disappeared. I think the doctor and dentist DID get the bug; it’s just not in the story! Thanks for reading!

Reply

Show 0 replies
Show 1 reply
Amanda Lieser
19:56 Jun 26, 2023

Hi Cindy, This story made me think of all of those songs that are now popularized, because of TikTok. We only get like a couple of seconds for each one so most of us don’t even really know the full songs, we just know that little blurb that has become extremely popular, and now music streaming services, like Spotify have create an entire stations out of helping people to listen to the full song that they know so well from a tiny 15 second interval. Your choice to repeat the chorus throughout the story, felt like scrolling through social med...

Reply

Show 0 replies
Lily Finch
14:43 Jun 14, 2023

Cindy, the story repetition mimicking the song repetition was brilliant. Despite it being tedious to read after a while I found it very effective. Good use of the prompt and spoke volumes about quick fixes that people jump to that may fix one problem but can be the root cause of another as we saw with the chewing gum. Your layers are subtle as the most obvious layer is the surface immediacy of the song lyrics. But the MC in the background trying anything and everything to rid herself of the song lyrics puts herself in an almost frenzied ...

Reply

Cindy Strube
05:45 Jun 25, 2023

Thanks, Lily! I appreciate the detailed comments, as always. Yes, the repetition of the chorus was tedious, but… I did feel it was necessary to make the point of how annoying it can be. I come from a quite musically inclined family and am very prone to earworms, And detecting rhythms. Sometimes the only fix is to replace the current one with something else! ; )

Reply

Show 0 replies
Show 1 reply
RBE | Illustrated Short Stories | 2024-06

Bring your short stories to life

Fuse character, story, and conflict with tools in Reedsy Studio. 100% free.