Thursday, January 10, 2008

In the Ear for Totally Optional

[This week we were challenged at Totally Optional Prompts to write about sound, "In the Ear."]



Listen

Every once in a while,
when the thermostat turns off the furnace,
stilling the drone of the forced hot air,
when the snow comes down thick enough to
muffle the neighborhood and keep cars off the road,
when the power goes out and turns off
all our so-called modern conveniences,
my ears drown in
the tiny hum of the battery-powered clock,
the whisper as I turn a page in my book,
and the thunderous quiet that overwhelms me.




14 comments:

Crafty Green Poet said...

I recognise that feeling so well, you've described it perfectly

Anonymous said...

This is very well done, I recognise it too.

Pauline said...

I know that thunderous quiet - perfectly described!

Christine Gail said...

such a quiet is so rare, that when it comes it is a welcome beautiful song. you captured it so well here.

sister AE said...

thanks, everyone. I'm glad I found the right words for this.

gautami tripathy said...

You indeed found riht words. A pleasure...

HL said...

Isn't reading in the dark just the best? You never know what you saved until forced to recall!

Cornfedtrouble: Unspeakable Word

paisley said...

having just experiences a few days without power,, i know only too well that silence... how i long then for the whir of my "modern conveniences"!!!!!

Holly Mac said...

I love this. And I agree with the comments above. This feeling is so familiar and so well described.

Unknown said...

Outstanding, you took a feeling and made it words on screen perfectly...we had one of thse moments just last week.

My submission is at:
http://wannabeawritersomeday.blogspot.com/2008/01/top-poem-what-do-you-hear.html

sister AE said...

Thanks, all. I'm buried in work, hence the mass thank-you, but I do appreciate all your comments!

Linda Jacobs said...

Wow, you nailed this! What great descriptions! I could hear that silence so well!

Deb said...

One of my favorite times, captured perfectly. It happens too rarely where I live.

sister AE said...

Hi, Linda and ...deb. I was thinking about this because of the intense change of noise level you get in computer rooms when all the computers and air conditioners and uninterruptible power supplies are off. But a home setting seemed more universal.