Breaking the Silence

the moon greets the dawn shimmering
from night’s silent well

breaking the stark silence of a winter morning,
a single crow calls

in sleep’s dark cocoon there are sounds
no one else can hear

beyond the heart beat, air in lungs
and surge of blood in ears

from the depths of sleep, muffled ticks
are anchored to the clock

soundless between the echoing rhythm,
a disquiet blue and dark

silence of fresh frost glistening on the path
is broken underfoot

language is frozen like ice on a pond
and memories are mute

a smile is soundless yet its message resounds
in a thunderbolt

Kim M. Russell, 31st July 2018

lonely-crow
Photo credit; David Russell

My response to dVerse Poets Pub Poetics: The Sounds of Silence, also linked to Imaginary Garden with Real Toads Tuesday Platform

This Tuesday we have a guest host tending the bar, Dwight Roth, who asks us to consider the sounds of silence. He says that we are looking at how silence speaks volumes, although no words are actually spoken, and thinking how one can live in a city of a million people yet feel silent and alone. He illustrates this idea with the music and lyrics of Simon and Garfunkel, as well as poems by Anna Kamienska and Langston Hughes.

Our challenge is to write a poem about the human condition that eludes to silence, especially the sounds of silence. I revisited some of the haiku I have written about silence and rewrote them as a new poem.

62 thoughts on “Breaking the Silence”

  1. So bang on here, dear–a simple smile is the true sound of silence. I enjoyed this journey from slumber to new day that you’ve provided. I spend a few moments recalling the dream I have awakened from before I slip on the tack for the day.

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    1. Thank you, Sarah. I love the muffled, foggy silence of autumn and winter too. It seems noisier in the summer, especially with holidaymakers about.

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  9. A nice compilation Kiim. The sounds that break silence are also very interesting. The tick tock anchored to the clock was a nice image. The thunderbolt smile always seems to speak volumes.

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  10. This is a great (aural) observation: soundless between the echoing rhythm. Especially hard to notice those silences in the morning when every sound bangs against our sleep.

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  11. language is frozen like ice on a pond
    and memories are mute

    I really loved this image – along with the others, carefully considered and culled, as each paints a very clear, and stark impression – it feel like we’re slipping into the moments, and then, we’re that pause – as readers, witnessing, and yet, who hasn’t had these same if not similar moments? So it is with interest and elegance that you’ve written of this solitude and silence, and very well shaped our reading of this poem – for honestly, this is one of those poems you end up slipping into, not only the words, but also the spaces between them. Well done Kim!

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  13. kaykuala

    a smile is soundless yet its message
    resounds in a thunderbolt

    How true Kim! A smile will easily ease off tensions without all the unnecessary arguments to and fro which may get out of hand!

    Hank

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  19. I am so glad that the speaker’s smile breaks language out of its ice-cage. The idea of language frozen and of memories muted makes me shiver with a creeping sort of fright.

    May the smiles always sing… and roar, too. 😀

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  22. “language is frozen like ice on a pond/and memories are mute”: Ooh, how exquisite! The silences do speak in their frosty tongue in your words, and that last bit about smile makes it a composite whole. The interplay of sounds and language is very interesting too.
    -HA

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  23. Love this , Kim. I woke up this morning before five. I’m sitting here, me with the fish, drinking decaf, eating a couple of saltines with peanut butter, and reading. An electric motor just stopped, I think it was the refrigerator.
    ..

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  26. I especially love the silence of Winter and you capture it so well with ‘the moon greets the dawn shimmering from night’s silent well – breaking the stark silence of a winter morning, a single crow calls’ – a beautiful write Kim :o) xxx

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