Picture the sound of a thousand colonies
abandoned by bees
battlefields when cannons cease
the ever after rest in peace
of the deceased 

unearthly quiet 

 imagine the sound of dialogue
intoning on deaf ears - not dumb adage
but muted gasps of language
white noise and a pulsing lub-dub
of internal baggage

deathly quiet 

sotto voce I commend
hushed tones, fortissimo pedal dampened
stillness of thought - but pray leave silence til the end

32 thoughts on “Pray Silence”

1. you’ve painted silence in its true color…”unearthly silence” is so chilling….

   1. its not always perfect Sumana!

2. You have given some chilling examples of silence. The abandoned bee colonies – sigh. Battlefields after battles. Deathly silence is very eerie. Really liked your poem & the ideas you presented. I read it a few times to get the full effect.

   1. appreciate your comments Mary – tried to capture the sounds of silence

3. You have shown both sides of silence…it made me think that silence is both an acceptance and quietude as well as a physical circumstance..very insightful poem

   1. yes Jae Rose – a two-edged sword – a wise man once said “you can have all the silence you want when you are dead”

4. Very tender piece, Laura – especially enjoyed your finish: “but pray leave silence til the end.” Great! With Best Wishes Scott http://www.scotthastie.com

   1. glad you felt the tenderness – I lived with my grandfather who was profoundly deaf

5. This is chilling! Well penned.

   1. bit like the ‘silence of the lambs’ without the goriness

6. How beautifully you capture even the dark sides of silence. You’ve written something with much depth. I too, like it all, but especially the end.

   1. thank you Myrna – there are many ways to enjoy peace without the deafening silence 🙂

7. love the sounds you have penned in your verse. Has my imagination listening

   1. creative comments – thank you!

8. So many pictures of silence are painted here!

   1. had not thought of all these elements til I started painting writing this 😉

9. Very haunting and original image – the colonies abandoned by bees. Cool.

   1. bee colony collapse – a most haunting sound

10. you’ve also captured what I heard at Dellville Wood.
    And no birds sing.

    1. and no trees swayed in the wind
       not even a leaf rustling

11. “white noise and a pulsing lub-dub
    of internal baggage”–really like the sound of this….ironic comment on a piece about silence, I suppose, but your word choices throughout this are super effective!

    1. irony passed on my grandfather perhaps for whom the silence of the deaf was a torment of hearing only his own voice and bodily sounds- especially as a young boy he had loved to sing and play the organ in church

12. Yes a world of sound can mean a lot to many of us.

    1. indeed – hearing is not always a blessing

13. I like how you caputured the feel of that very special silence after a special noise. Enjoyed your poem so much.

    1. the contrast can be almost deafening Myrna!

14. That is a true silence of discomfort.. the aftermath of battlefield so devastating, though sometimes when reading, it has almost been the opposite.. the sound of that single songbird in the middle of all death has almost been worse than the eerie silence…

    1. so true – without the songbird we cannot digest the eeriness.Remind me of Hardy’s thrush:
       “An aged thrush, frail, gaunt, and small,
       In blast-beruffled plume,
       Had chosen thus to fling his soul
       Upon the growing gloom.”

15. Your poem could be a Gregorian song since Gregorian is the song of the silence.
    Love ❤
    Michel

    1. nice way of putting it Michel ❤

16. Once again you have done such an amazing job defining some of the most jarring examples of silence…deep and so sorrowful from beginning to end. Loved this!

    1. a perfect phrase Donna – ‘jarring examples of silence’ – thank you

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