The Sound of Stillness

Audrey is a poet, classical singer and voice teacher, recovering attorney and licensed psychotherapist.

My #16 for National Poetry Month

beauty comes in silence

fashions her garments

from tree tendrils

wraps fingers through

leaves

pushes her marrow

through each vein.

she tenders of herself

in the slip of silence

until, satisfied

that the forgotten

are fed

she falls back into earth

through pores

pulled open by grubs.

the earth breathes.

© 2017 Audrey Howitt

Comments

Peggy Woods from Houston, Texas on March 16, 2018:

Your poem made me think of walking through ancient forests. Beautiful imagery!

S P Austen from Qualicum Beach, BC, Canada on February 08, 2018:

I like it!

Dora Weithers from The Caribbean on April 26, 2017:

Lovely imagery! It is true that beauty gives to each of us silently and sufficiently.

Jamie Lee Hamann from Reno NV on April 19, 2017:

I could visualize beauty as an Aphrodite ensuring that every bit of nature is nurtured and loved. Jamie

Gypsy Rose Lee from Daytona Beach, Florida on April 19, 2017:

Lovely poetic thoughts.

Linda Crampton from British Columbia, Canada on April 17, 2017:

You create such interesting and vivid imagery, Audrey. Thank you for sharing it.

Linda Rogers from Minnesota on April 17, 2017:

Beautiful imagery of nature talking of the importance of silence. I think many of us can learn much about spending more time in the quiet zone. Too many distractions in our society. Thanks for sharing this poem.

mckbirdbks from Emerald Wells, Just off the crossroads,Texas on April 17, 2017:

Hi Audrey - An ode to spring. You find inspiration everywhere.

Venkatachari M from Hyderabad, India on April 17, 2017:

An excellent account of the flower. Very deep meaning in so few words!

JohnPLyons on April 17, 2017:

Beautifully written!

Bill Holland from Olympia, WA on April 17, 2017:

I need stillness. Bev knows this, and allows me my quiet time. I need to feel the world all around me without hearing it....that's what this poem means to me.

threekeys on April 16, 2017:

Love how you personified the tree.The image is solitary and still-beautiful.

Ruby Jean Richert from Southern Illinois on April 16, 2017:

Beautiful. Silence sometimes is maddening, other times it is nourishment for our souls.

FlourishAnyway from USA on April 16, 2017:

This is serene. You have a special gift.

Liz Elias from Oakley, CA on April 16, 2017:

Very vivid imagery. Well done!

I think there is a stillness in the silence; most of the time if we allow it to be. Many of us though, are plagued with a mind that won't be still, so we sit in silence without stillness within.

The stillness in the silence of a forest is not silent at all, if you are tuned in and listening. Contradictory? Not really, if you ponder on those thoughts.

(Idon't ever get total silence, due to tinnitus, but if I allow myself to be still, I can almost ignore it...)

Audrey Howitt (author) from California on April 16, 2017:

Thank you Mark--there is a difference for me between the two I think--I can be still and yet surrounded by noise--and at some point noise prevents the deeper sense of stillness that I seek--Thank you Manatita! Happy Easter to you both

manatita44 from london on April 16, 2017:

So exquisite! So descriptive, so vivid!

Mark Tulin from Palm Springs, California on April 16, 2017:

My first thought: We don't get enough silence because most of us don't look for it. We're too busy making noise. Is there a difference between stillness and silence for you?