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| Wikimedia Commons: Le Silence by Antoine-Augustin Préault |
Today's poem arrived as I as ironing a pair of slacks. Isn't that how creativity often works? You quit trying so hard and...boom. There it is.
LE SILENCE
On the days I long for silence
remind me, please
of giggles.
On the days we pass in silence
remind me, please
of finishing each other's sentences.
On the days that seem filled with silence
remind me, please
of chickadees.
On the nights I hear only silence
remind me, please
to listen for the music of the spheres.
©Mary Lee Hahn, 2013
Kevin (Kevin's Meandering Mind) left this in the comments:
Shhhh,
she said,
as I raised my voice to protest
yet again the unfairness of it all
as if my words could change this stone barrier
when I know now that what I
needed was
silence.
©Kevin Hodgson, 2013
And Carol (Carol's Corner) wrote this wistful beauty:
"Shhhh…"
Shhhhh…
Let us not speak
of pools at summer's end
dropped ice cream cones
jeans that used to fit.
Neither will we speak of
birthday cards not mailed
library books overdue
friendships left untended.
And of course there will be no talk of
toddlers now adults
nests that echo emptiness
forgetful parents
And please do not bring up
Bubbles burst
Broken promises
Dashed dreams.
We will not speak of these.
Shhhhh…
(c) Carol Wilcox, 2013
If you have a minute, go back to yesterday's post and check out the responses from Carol (not to be missed) and Lisa (I've got a new "career" :-).
The theme of my 2013 National Poetry Month Project is
"Common Inspiration--Uncommon Creations."
I will be using the media to inspire my poetry, but I am going to invite my students to use my daily media picks to inspire any original creation: poems, stories, comics, music, videos, sculptures, drawings...anything!
You are invited to join the fun, too! Leave a link to your creation in the comments and I'll add it to that day's post. I'll add pictures of my students' work throughout the month as well.
Shhhh,
ReplyDeleteshe said,
as I raised my voice to protest
yet again the unfairness of it all
as if my words could change this stone barrier
when I know now that what I
needed was
silence.
Kevin
What a stunning piece of art you found to inspire you today, Mary Lee! I ran out of time to comment yesterday but I meant to tell you how much I enjoyed your post -- so true. Over the years, I have actually had a couple of poets refuse permission because they want people to buy their books instead, so it really is worth asking. (I just went back to check out Carol's poem -- wow!)
ReplyDeleteSorry to be slow in getting around to visit you, Mary Lee! This is SOOOOO interesting. Would it be called ekphrastic blogging? I like your little quiet poem very much, especially the second stanza. I really love Dogtrax's poem too, reminding me of a lesson i am slow to learn.
ReplyDeleteSilence lets us hear and see more sometimes. But we need the giggles, too. I like your poem. April is a hectic month for teachers and you do this, too. You are inspiring and fabulous! I can't wait to share this with my teacher friends.
ReplyDeleteJanet F.
Love this, Mary Lee..it's so hard to capture silence and the need for it, but you did it! :)
ReplyDeleteI have a small blue ceramic box/frame that includes a man holding his finger up as if to say "silence". A parent gave it to me a few years ago, as a 'gift' for a teacher who sometimes needs silence. She said she bought it at our art institute. I wonder if the student had seen this beautiful sculpture, & created a different version. I think I'll print your poem & put it with my sculpture, Mary Lee. I loved your poem, that part about the chickadees especially here in early spring.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteWrote a poem, but then when I tried to paste it in here, the spacing went totally weird so I deleted it. It's posted on my blog http://carolwscorner.blogspot.com/2013/04/poem-4-shhh.html.
ReplyDeleteThe contrast of the concrete stuff (giggles and chickadees) with the more abstract- silence and the music of the spheres is perfect, Mary Lee. And I love Kevin's "stone barrier."
Oh, I do like this so much. So true. We need reminders.
ReplyDeleteThank you thank you thank you! I am using your daily inspirations to get my 70 Middle School students writing and we are loving it! Please keep up the good work. We especially loved Carol Wilcox's poem from Le Silence.
ReplyDelete**claps hands delightedly**
DeleteOh, YAY!! I'm so happy that this project is being used by another classroom! If you have photos of/links to projects you'd like to share, send them along!