Poetry Thursday - Listening
Oliver Wendell Holmes says
"It is the province of knowledge to speak And it is the privilege of wisdom to listen."
Listening
listening for voices
yet nothing can be heard.
Listening
listening to the silence
I am listening
but I don’t hear a word.
Listening
sounds surround me
listening means
learning how to hear.
Listening
listening to the silence
listening
there are voices everywhere.
© June 2006 all rights reserved
More poetry at Poetry Thursday
posted by Endment at 6:50 AM
28 Comments:
Beautiful! Oh to be in a place where such silence abounds, says she, the city girl surrounded by traffic sounds during yet another transit strike! Lovely photo, too.
Hi,
A great lesson on listening...i liked this quote very much...and these lines..
listening means
learning how to hear.
Great poem..
thank you for sharing..
Interesting how photographs make everything quiet, not just still, and this poem goes to the very heart of that kind of quiet.
what a sweet photo and your poem is a perfect compliment to PT this week.
I LOVE your doves they are beautiful!
Oh this is my favorite bird photo of yours. Perfect poem to accompany it.
a.
Yay! I think this does follow the prompt and gets at what the prompt is all about.
What a clever poem to choose for this weeks prompt - and you always have such a perfect photo to go with it. I'm listening and can hear these doves cooing.
I agree--you took the theme and stretched it, shaped it, made it your own. I loved the poem...I am learning about listening right now. The picture was lovely, a pigeon landed on my car yesterday as I parked it on the city street where I teach my class and he wouldn't budge. We stared at one another for a few minutes until he finally broke his gaze and vanished...amazing.
Those serene doves are a rare treat this morning,and your poem is a lovely Zen kind of creation which nourishes the soul. Thank you so much for this - it is just what I needed to see and hear this morning.
"Listening means learning how to hear"...Love that! Wonderful poem, Endment!
I like the contrast between the silence and the voices everywhere - an effective contradiction that really made me think.
look at the feathers on these guys! I never noticed how many colors there was. beautiful.
There are voices everywhere...how important to remember that everthing has a voice and deserves respect...bravo
so nice! :)
I love the way listening is repeated - like a kind of listening. Wonderful!
Endment, this photo is so touching. What a wonderful fluff of color and shape the feathers make. You have captured a special moment.
Thanks for the poem too!
I miss silence in my life. I used to have it when I lived in the country. No wonder I have a fantasy about moving to Montana. :)
Thank you for the beautiful poem.
Beautiful, beautiful photo.
Listening--seeing. The basics of a rich life. Beautiful poem.
A wonderful poem in response to the prompt! Lovely photo also!
umm... love your Thursday poetry.
Gorgeous feathers.
This, I have to say with great irony, was the perfect post for Blogger's Thursday outage. All those voices, and all that silence. Thank you for giving me a smile yesterday, even if unintended!
Great choice of poetry to post, Endment. It reminded me of pohaginatepete's May 31st post on silence. Hope you have a good weekend. :)
A beautiful and gently poignant poem, Endment. And the photograph matches it perfectly ....
I like how the voices that cannot be heard arise to the wisdom and attention of listening.
THAT IS AWSOME!!!!!
My turn.
Roses are red
Violets are blue
That poem rocks
And so do you
;P
That is the most wonderful photo.
Thanks
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