becoming known

as children we put our ears
to a glass
and held it to the wall
to listen to the neighbors fight
and curse one another.

they hardly made a sound
outside their walls,
church going and proper,
the yard a fine trimmed
lawn, a car that shined,
but now
at night,

they'd go at it, with pots
and pans,
breakables thrown,
uttering words we rarely
heard, becoming known.