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A Slow Decrescendo

Heather Hoyt

Spring 2026

The difficulty of a slow decrescendo
is that I forgot what it used to be like

Light and shadow falling across a sheet of music; Photo by Sarah Dao on Unsplash

The difficulty of a slow decrescendo
is that I forgot what it used to be like
the vibrant explosion of previous lines
are no longer ringing, echoing,
but are dampened in a slow
reduction of what was—
I have loved this song, I love this song
but now in the soft whisper of the ending
I wonder when the last notes will fall,
so close, so far, so quiet

Heather Hoyt is a mother of four and a philosopher currently working on a PhD at the University of Utah, where she studies the intersection of philosophy, economics, and psychology. She loves to teach philosophy, go hiking, and watch Star Trek. She lives in the mountain in a house her grandpa built, along with her family, one dog, one turtle, two cats, two rabbits, four geese, four ducks, and six chickens. You can find her at heatherwhoyt.com.

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