Reflections on Silver

I remember, at the age of seven or eight, copying sentences and sayings, chosen by our teacher, from a chalkboard in neat italic, writing in blue ink with an italic pen. I can remember quite a few of them, but the one that stands out in my mind is: “Speech is silver, silence is golden.” I have always been a lover of silver – never gold. My wedding ring is silver, I have no gold jewellery, and my hair is slowly turning silver – and I love it! Saying that, I do have a gold tooth, and I need the silence of early morning, when I can think, read and write. However, I miss the silver speech of friends and colleagues, and the chatter, ideas and jokes of students, which I enjoyed when I was still teaching.

a silver snail trail
leaves a scribble on the path
birds break the silence

Kim M. Russell, 4th August 2025

Image by Erwan Hesry on Unsplash

It’s the first Monday of August and time for writing haibun with Frank at the dVerse Poets Pub, and our topic is silver.

Frank reminds us that, “a gleaming gray metal, silver is the runner-up to gold, with a distinctiveness all its own. From the kryptonite of werewolves, to that second-place Olympic medal, the element known by the ancient Romans as Argentum continues to appeal.”

The other context in which silver is used is the 25th wedding anniversary, which Frank and his wife celebrated in July.

Frank has given us a couple of examples of haibun – I love the one by Joanne Morcom in particular.

38 thoughts on “Reflections on Silver”

  9. I love how it jogged your memory Kim. I remember silence is golden but I didn’t know speech was silver. Considering I was a chatterbox in school I am surprised no one told me! 🤣 I love both metals. Gold is the sunshine and silver is the moon 💕

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  14. A beautiful haibun, Kim. I love your double meaning on silver and gold. I used a chalk board many years during my teaching career! Could you ever imagine all the changes we have seen in our lifetime!

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  15. I enjoyed this very much. The Haiku made me picture you children meandering to school and bursting through the doors excitedly telling their teacher about the night before.

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