I like for you to be still;
mindless chatter
makes my head hurt.
I prefer to listen to bees,
and the small sound the hummers make
when they dive-bomb the nasturtiums.
I like for you to be still.
At the shore, there are wave-songs,
joyously singing melodies
I need to hear.
They say, if you are quiet, and listen,
you can hear ants singing by rubbing
their back legs together.
I have been listening ever since
for their song.
In the forest, there is a symphony
of leafsong and summer breeze,
the timpani of light raindrops on salal.
But you have to be silent
to hear the sweet sounds
of nature at her work.
One must still one's heart
to notice the sky
casting a benign, bemused glance
upon we earthlings,
as we scurry about like demented ants
on a landscape longing for repose.
for Sanaa's prompt at Real Toads: to take the title of Neruda's poem, "I Like For You to be Still" as our inspiration.
Good.job Sherry, I like those demented ants. Perhaps not until I dedicated my reading to them after "listen, you can hear ants singing by rubbing their back legs together." I'd not heard that until now.
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This is wonderful, especially your first stanza and I agree wholeheartedly!
ReplyDeleteIt seems we are often like "demented ants." Unfortunately.
ReplyDeleteI can hear the drum of the raindrops. And maybe even the sounds of the ants as they go marching. And if I have to listen to droning I would much rather it be the bees I hear!
ReplyDeleteThere is nothing quite like walking into the forest, sitting down under a tree and letting the trees and the animals, the insects and birds go about their business.As you listen with you eyes closed you too become part of the forest too. Your poems always remind me of my own experiences and wish to return there too.
ReplyDeleteGosh this is absolutely breathtaking, Sherry!!💖 I love the message in your poem and the image; "In the forest, there is a symphony of leafsong and summer breeze,the timpani of light raindrops on salal. But you have to be silent to hear the sweet sounds of nature at her work."😊
ReplyDeleteSweet, silent cacophony. Salute
ReplyDeleteto be still, so you can hear... yes! Lovely. I adore soft, gentle rain.
ReplyDeleteOh, this is simply beautiful in its stillness.
ReplyDeleteWe really must appear to nature as “demented ants”
ReplyDeleteLove this poem, Sherry.
i couldn't agree with a poem more, Sherry! I too prefer it too be still around me.
ReplyDeleteOh how much is missed by our own noise..I am so grateful for that tiny strip of woods behind my house. It is truly a sanctuary.
ReplyDeleteI like the whole pollinator theme that dominates this one, including but not limited to the demented ants.
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