“Now I will do nothing but listen
to accrue what I hear into this song.
To let sounds contribute toward it.”
- Walt Whitman
Freeways criss-cross Sacramento and, in my neighborhood, the whoosh of highway traffic is more reliable than the wind. I live a few blocks from northern California’s only trauma center; the rooftop helipad receives steady use. Nearly every homeowner has a leaf blower or a gardener who does. Our dog barks, as do other pooches. In summertime, fireworks erupt nearly every night from ball field or fairgrounds. It can be noisy.
But rivers also bisect the city. A breeze comes east to us from the ocean, across bays and estuaries, stirring wind chimes. Hummingbirds chatter. In autumn, swathes of fallen leaves clatter like scuttling crabs and crunch under boots of passersby. These sounds, and their accompanying sights and smells, punctuate the day.
By exercising my poetic mind, I push aside unwanted noise and hone in on desired sounds.
Daily Prompt: Listen for sounds beneath the noise. No need to pick up a pencil. Just do some Whitman-esque listening for a few minutes. Enjoy the song.
No comments:
Post a Comment