The Sound of Silence
I pluck a string. Low E.
Baby girl on floor goes still.
Rosebud lips round to a silent O.
Low reverberation,
ripples up and down my spine
in male baritones.
High E.
Soft block slips from chubby hands.
Eyelids flutter.
We watch.
The room fills with fireflies.
Blink. Blink. Blink.
A high trill, like crystal notes
from a water-glass xylophone,
signals her joy.
We watch.
Fireflies shift into
a rainbow of electric butterflies.
Baby trills a chord: eeee aaa ddd.
We drink in harmony,
effervescent fizzies tickling tummies.
She makes the sign for more.
My fingers dance over strings.
Colors pop like fireworks and I laugh for her.
~Nara Malone
image credit: blurred christmas lights by Dominick on Flickr
It’s possible not everyone sees the color of sound, or feels the notes walking through their body. I think poets do. For some of us it is in our DNA, part of a rich neurodiversity that fuels our creativity. For others they see and feel in the mind’s eye. However it happens for you, it is part of the harvest from which we all feed our poetry. The theme, should you choose to use it, for OLN on dVersepots.com is Harvest. Stop by dversepoets.com to see what others wrote or to join the fun yourself.
14 Comments
Björn Rudberg
I love how the music of words and reality mix..and effervescent fizzies tickling tummies. make me want some bubbly 🙂
Claudia
it would be cool to see the color of sound… music for me is a bit like a firework in my brain…soothing or energizing… love how you capture the energy and life…
Brian Miller
nice mix of the senses…and the color of sound…synesthesia….smiles…is cool…music affects each of us in different ways….it brings out different emotions…love the awe in the child too…smiles…
bwfiction
children learn with their whole being. I liked the sensual feel of the world that surrounds us
Gabriella
Your piece made me think of a poem by Rimbaud where he associates letters and colors and also of Maria Montessori's theories on education.
Mary
You've made this poem sing, Nara. I do think children can really feel the music!
Heaven
Beautifully narrated ~ I want to sing and pop the colors like fireworks too ~ Thanks for sharing ~
The Bizza
I hear the notes being played through your words. It's amazing how music can have a calm, mesmerizing effect on us all.
Shadow
This is amazing! Your images are superb!
seasideauthor
Great images, children love music, if they hate it they shut down completely and block it out. When they love it they relax or physically try to movement with music. Amazing to watch. Listened to your write. Thanks.
mishunderstood
This is wonderful. The interactive play between a little one and music. Poetry really is music, in my opinion….the dance, the song, the rhythm and mostly the deep connection of words to emotions. Beautifully written.
And yeah! to this little one signing "more"!
Audrey Howitt aka Divalounger
Love the combo of color and sound–I think about breath in singing as having color–loved this!
grapeling
well plucked ~
Leah St. James
Wonderful, Nara! I could picture everything. 🙂