I see everyone around me on their phone
even in the water, they wear it around their neck
like a noose or a dog leash
I don’t know
but I don’t want to live attached to some appendage
and when it is gone you feel a loss
you don’t know how to fill in the moments,
the awkward silence
a stranger to your own mind
Inundated with opinions, media, news
It’s hard to separate the independent voice from the noise
Is there any original thought or has there never been?
We document our moments
Hosts of our own lives
oversharing and blaring
adding more to the stream of information
I want a reprieve
a break in the noise
to be okay in the void that remains
Then I get to decide what to put there:
a comfortable armchair, pillows,
a small table for cookies and tea
a blanket and nook for my book
Here I have room to breathe
we are wireless beings,
not meant to be tethered
we have freedom in the space that remains
to explore, to listen
We don’t have to post and add to find meaning
the chaos and noise will always be there
when we pick up our device
I am the conductor of my life
and today I choose the breeze,
the sunshine, even when it is smoky
I do not have to escape from the present moment
there is nowhere to go
Just here and now is all we got
I am grateful for this breath,
this strong heart that loves and holds
A freedom beats in my chest
Tag: noise
My dreaming landscape
Beating drums like beating wings
of the mourning dove
It purrs as it takes flight
- short bursts of fancy -
until it is out of sight.
The quiet under the chatter
- the pause breaks rhyme and meter -
even original thought might appear
before it dives back underwater
melting where ice meets the sea.
The boom of melting glaciers
the noise blaring out of our devices
- out of our mouths -
till one melds into one
then bellows into the night.
Disrupting peace and calm,
steady breathing and beating hearts
- awake without warning -
where rumination and worry
have nowhere to hide.
No noise to distract
nowhere to be
- just hear -
as my mind takes flight
and plunges back into dream.
Unconscious and subconscious
submerged once again
toiling and boiling underfoot
solving and cajoling - nipping -
Here, I gather the seeds of wisdom
(the seeds of nourishment)
Outside the Door
I cannot see what lies Outside the door When I am safe behind it. I hear voices Loud and bold. Are they broad and jubilant? Are they escalating to laughter or to an argument? A voice raises an octave. The speed of speech quickens. I am nervous and unsure. Do I look and see who is Outside the door? I work in a courthouse. It’s filled with lawyers, defendants and civilians. It’s a rotating door of comings and goings. The clicking of high heels Echo down the hall Until they disappear Around the corner. The walls in my office Are not as thick as One would think. Concrete is not a great insulator Against the reverberant noise. When all is quiet, I hear the tick-tock of the clock High up on the wall. It looks down A bird’s eye view. In the beginning, I had the best office with two huge windows overlooking College Hill. Always the sound of cars, of construction, of landscapers, Even voices of those below Peppered my days. Now I’ve been moved to a more active part of the courthouse. With a small window Overlooking the quad. It is grey no matter the season. The rays of sun Hardly get to seep down Into the square space. Noise permeates outside my door. It is a good thing. Quiet days tend to extend into A very long work day And I am counting the hours Until I can get outside. I crave solitude. At times, I crave The silence. The world is not A quiet place.
Healing Insights 