Thud

photo by Alberto Ciprian

              THUD

Maybe that's the sound?

muddied crossings on forests' floors

the sound of cotton dampened, 

heavy hammer

                              

thud

when the roots and roofs of things

are shaken and

people are fading in desperate

black alley corners

alleys of disquiet 

urine musk and ...... wet cardboard

we draw away

thud

i can almost see

but who am I to sing the sounds of things

I have never been there

never witnessed

never heard the 

trees falling alone .. in the forest.

never dared the alley.

never slept there.

Author's Note

Reviews

[mou]

"alleys of disquiet
urine musk and ...... wet cardboard"
Some lows are beyond imagination and question every belief. I love how 'Thud' transcends through different measures. My interpretation: for victims, it is the sound of the extreme below which nothing remains to get broken. for us: it is the hammer to make us grateful, (towards own blessings) and empathetic (for the victims). for almighty God: it the the sound of defeat from believers. It is a heartfelt write. '...trees falling alone...'. Your metaphors speak volumes!
- mou

[Einstein Noodle]

i can not feel more gratified to receive such a review, Mou ... ever so thankful .. blessings of peace and love
E.

[mou]

Thank you so much, E. I love your poems that demand an undivided attention and they deserve it. It is my pleasure.
- mou

[Ken e Bujold]

powerful poem EN. as so rightly notes, judge not what ye have no way of knowing

[Einstein Noodle]

oh man!!! so spot on Ken ... so much we have no idea of but strive to form opinions on ... peace on you and all you do
E.

[Annette Pisano-Higley]

“urine musk and ...... wet cardboard”
How evocative and powerful this line is E. How telling and poignant about the poverty and homelessness in the world. “Thud”- yes, do we hear the trees that are falling in our shared forest? Or do we put that sound out of our minds for the fear of experiencing it? For the fear of it. They are one of the groups of ‘expendables’ in society. Left to God’s mercy, not ours. Would we contribute to an ongoing global tax to provide food, shelter, services? I hear this in your words and thank for the stark eloquence of your write my friend.

[Einstein Noodle]

oooooo not sure about "global" anything Ms. Annette! my own little County in the USA can hardly handle the complexities of our "free" society .. love your comments .. thanks so much for reviewing .. we are getting to be old time friends eh!? ;) Slainte is tainte (health and wealth) ... luv on ya girl!
E.

[Annette Pisano-Higley]

Slainte is tainte my friend!:)))

[Soren]

"I know what you me" " I feel you pain" "Yes I know" how many times I have heard these, said these and yet no one knows what another feels, thinks, has been through. "the sound of cotton dampened" how aptly you have said it all in this one line. Very deep if one chooses to think about it. Has anyone been sensitive enough to hear cotton dampened? "black alley corners
alleys of disquiet
urine musk and ...... wet cardboard"
The misery of others we can not comprehend, even if we have been there or lived there. Each person walks their own path. Yes "we draw away" either because we don't want to see or we simply can't. Yes we think that we can almost see but as your last stanza says, we have never been there. Brilliant!

[Einstein Noodle]

your words touch me big time, Soren ... thanks so much for taking time and reading with sensitivity and insights ... super appreciate you man!!
E.

[Perdition]

THUD!..Such an amazing flow in the way this begins and runs like silk spinning over the wind. I can honestly say that in this I do know what it is to be in the alley dream and to sleep in the alley frost one eye open. I know it well enough to understand that you don't have to be there. You only need to fall in and out of reason, in and out of jobs, love, loss, passion, rain, etc.etc.etc. Your poetry rings the hammer and pain of it quite well, so much so that I would swear you were its landlord...lol. Quite the hammer of this falls. Well appreciated it~

[Einstein Noodle]

thank you so much for your reading and sensitive reflection .. no .. we don't have the need to have the experience to know what something is like .. thank you for bringing that aspect of this poem up ... like you say .. there are many causes that humanity can act to relieve .. even if it's just a Happy Meal given ... sure appreciate your review Perdition ... thank you!
E.

[Perdition]

Happy Meal? Where??..lol A pleasure and wonderful write as well as good memory. Believe it or not~

[Einstein Noodle]

:) ........... thank you! peace, comfort and joy to you my friend

[Betty Hermelee]

Those back alleys and mud are home to many "homeless people who are use to dirt, rain, slop, garbage and more.... thus could be anything in these lonely damp, dark alleys.....these are people who have the clothes on their back and maybe a cigarette or two, or maybe some drugs....thud...is someone crying for help....
This is very powerful and speaks to an underclass of those who have nothing......Nice write.
Warmly, B

[Einstein Noodle]

wow! so humbled and gratified by your words, Betty .. thanks so much and very happy you took time to peer down the alley

[Betty Hermelee]

of course, happy to see you back; and you're very welcome!
Warmly, B

[Neville]

mental health, substance misuse & homelessness often go hand in hand .. I know, sadly it remains my bread and butter .. as an aside, I was once there myself many moons ago .. for just under six very long months .. it wasn't nice back then .. its an awful lot worse & more dangerous these days .. and for the record, the implicated tree does make a noise, it just doesn't resonate enough or register ..

sadly quite brilliant Gene .. N.

[Einstein Noodle]

hugs man! your words touch me sir .. really appreciate the resonance that is just not strong enough to register .. taking that with me the rest of the day sir .. thanks!!!
E.

[Vol]

Einstein,
Great perspective! I just roll my eyes when folks try to speak of things they know nothing about. We can all imagine the things you describe, but our ignorance is stunning, our arrogance even more so.
Vol

[Einstein Noodle]

yes yes yes sir!! you get me to the core .. thanks so much for the visit and taking time to send me your review ... peace, love and truth Mr. Vol!!
E.

[Sami Khalil]

A great poem!
Thud represents trees falling after the clinging to roots then separating from them, humans clinging to bare necessities of life, like a home, basis meals, clean showers, then losing all for different reasons.
Some of us care, others don't. Some of us take time to help, even with meager resources. Others blame them and move on.
Rich, powerful people can make a difference. They have to humble the and work harder to alleviate social problems. Not saying alp are bad. Lots of good ones. They use their immense resources to help others. Others can learn and help solve problems.
I read about this Billionaire in South Korea; he came from nothing. Upon achieving that status, he purchased a house to each family in his town to give back to society. He did not have to do that.
In the US, the money we waste on so many things can feed, house thousands.
Wowzy woooo sir Einstein.

[Einstein Noodle]

lots of improvements to go around aren't there Sami!? .. one body at a time says i .. just one at a time .. you are right, me thinks, a lot do a lot .. still .. always there will be the poor and the suffering ... i think they help us more than we them ;) thanks for taking time dear friend .. your review encourages me to keep trying
E.

[Sami Khalil]

Wow! So true and well said. You are welcome sir Einstein.

[Ken Simm.]

Oh excellent. I don't know how I missed this one. It completes something I didn't know I never thought of.
Extraordinary and quite metaphysical.

[Einstein Noodle]

thanks Ken .. always .. i just posted it a few days ago .. i'm gratified it sent you on a metaphysical journey ... grace and light be on you my friend
E.

[FGFRANKLIN]

I enjoyed this. We were asked in psychology class, "if a tree falls in the forest and there's nobody there to hear it, does it make a sound?" The answer of course is no, it does not. Because sound is produced by the ear. It would certainly create vibrations that could be interpreted by the ear as "sound" but unless there is a creature to hear it, it only creates vibrations. Of course it can be argued that that someone or something is "always" listening. :)

[Einstein Noodle]

yes! that's part of the poem, so happy you pointed it out .. i had never heard the real argument on the no side of that conundrum .. a large oak tree, maybe 60-70 feet tall fell not 15 yrds from my cabin during the night a while back ... i never heard nor felt the vibrations of it at all and was astonished when i saw it fallen in the morning .. peace brother .. and thanks again for reading and sharing your thoughts
E.

[FGFRANKLIN]

My pleasure. It was a great read.