that sound alone

"shhhhh.....shissssssh"
"be quiet"...whispered
"Can you hear that?"
.
.
"What is that sound?"

Is it far...a faraway
train whistle lonesome
from song of mainline?

Is it the soft ting
of the tea kettle
cooling on the stove,
bending it's metal?

"What is that sound?"

It is the slow creak
of old wooden chairs
as mortise and tenon
slowly adjust, torqued
to a shifting weight.

Could be a mantle
clock tiptoe ticking
away Sunday afternoon.
Why don't they make
digital clocks tick?

Is it that catlike scratch
of the Autumn branch
gently scraping the window?

"What is that sound?"

It is the hushed hum
of computer fan lulling
a digital brain.

The Venetian blinds
rhythmically tap half-open
double-hung windows.

The vibrating whir
of some electric motor
compressing or orbiting
the periodic table.

Mountains of Quaking Aspen
leaves relaxing the winds.

When is alone welcome
and when is it forlorn?

The weight of near silence,
light as the dust that
floats the sunlit room,
or heavy as a cardiac
anvil under ancient
spreading Chestnut tree.

Did the bell toll at
the village church,
ringing all comers
to awake momentarily, or
was that just tinnitus?

Unable to open eyes,
sounds belie surroundings
and alone might be
fallacy or welcome.

Deceptive senses afoot
in the stirrup, and hammer
tapping anvil might only
be a mindful dream.

© agoodguy2have 2011-06-13
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Posted: Jun 2011

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Comments (6)

andrew149
I liked this one GG...even in the dead quiet of the countryside....there is usually a faint sound....makes you wonder what it is...and sometimes you never find out....Thankyou...Andrew...cool
Billiegirl
Lovely, it can also be scary when you live near the woods . blues
lynniePEN
applause applause cheering Just loved your poem, bought back good memoriespeace
Redex
Just loved this poem sound alone makes you know your alive.frog even from a frog in the creek.cheers
gnj4u
Hi, agoodguy2have,
"What is that sound?" Is it the sound of a lonely heart or one at peace with itself and the world, whether alone or not? "Can you hear that?" I love the way your poem's sounds awaken and draw us to them.
Tithonus57
Even Wilde's impressions are nothing compared to this. Yours equal Woolf's and Falkner's.
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