Written For: dVerse Poets Pub – Haibun Monday – “Silent Sounds” (posted by Frank)
These are all those thoughts and chatter that go through our minds which seem like words that have a sound, but do not require ears to hear them.
Sometimes they are prayers or mantras one recites often enough to not really be aware one is doing so. Sometimes they are concerns or things people have said that keep coming back to mind.
Anyway, the theme for this Haibun Monday is anything to do with this internal chatter, what I call silent sounds, used however you are motivated to use it. The form to use is a haibun–prose that contains somewhere within it a haiku.
I am on a walk down neighborhood streets, passing shops along the way. Florist has amaryllis in window. I hear Mom–not a flower person–talking about how she fell in love with amaryllis. Then I hear Dad–mail carrier in flower district of New York City–telling her that all the years he brought flowers home, she never gave them a glance. I walk briskly past cemetery, hearing Mom saying many times that Dad would outlive her. She was wrong.
Next shop, Uncle Louie’s Italian Ices. Oh no! For the rest of my stroll,
the song lyrics to “Louie, Louie” hammer in my head, over and over.
voices in my head
happy and sad. Clearest ones
are those who have gone
I love this! It has such an honest, stream-of-consciousness tone that makes it a powerful piece to read.
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Thanks, Jo!
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The raw honesty of this haibun really moved me. It is strange how the voices of our parents play over and over in our heads long after they are gone.
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Thanks, Suzanne. They seem to get clearer with time.
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Nice description of your mother and father and those flowers. Also the mention in the haiku about the clearest voices being those who have gone.
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Thanks, Frank!
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Oh, those voices in the head. Sometimes they are a comfort -sometimes they drive you crazy. Great write, Sara
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Thanks, Debi!
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I love your tribute to the voices of your parents running through your mind. Amazing how song hooks grab us and keep recycling on and on! Very nicely done.
dwight
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Thanks, Dwight!
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Oh the songs … I can so clearly hear that, and how a voice long gone comes back from a memory like a flower…
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Thanks, Bjorn. Amazing the things that play in our heads during silence.
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