Dead Air

Sonnet

The DJ shuts the fader by mistake, yet speaks his words in slick and practised tones, but doesn’t hear them coming through his ’phones, berates himself: That’s quite a gaffe to make. That’s five whole seconds, nothing but dead air. I’ve dropped a clanger. This is just not done! The programme’s live, it’s not a trial run. The punters might retune and go elsewhere. But more important is that what we give distracts, amuses, offers light, bright, trite. Dead air is not an option. Get it right! They need our pap: it tells them how to live. Although this little lapse is but a blink, it might just give the punters time to think.

Reviews

[Betty Hermelee]

I’m assuming this person is perturbed by the silence in the radio, or some other device. A dead sound, as you say. But silence is golden, they say, and that gives one time to think, ponder, dream the cosmos or whatever, the point being the quiet is good and constant chatter or music becomes chaotic to the brain which needs time to rest.
Nice write
Best
Betty

[Andrew John]

Was in radio myself years ago, and, yes, I've done some dead sound now and then. Listener hears nothing of course - and the comment here is that he/she may well switch to another channel if there are as many as six seconds of dead air.

[Betty Hermelee]

You’re welcome!

[Lisasview]

Hi there Andrew,
Lets see, first you mention a Sonnet here...but is it?
I thought, and please correct me if I am wrong, that a sonnet is 4 verses, the first 3 verses are 4 lines each and the 4th verse is 2 lines.... There are 10 syllables to each line and every other line rhymes..I think that is it... but I am guessing there are all sorts of sonnets that I am not aware of???
Anyway, I see you are from Wales and so there are words in your lines that I do not recognise...Is gaffe a mistake?
and what is clanger?
are punters...people..and what is pap?
Oh gosh.. but even without me knowing for sure I still did enjoy it...
Lisa, from California...now in Spain

[Andrew John]

A Petrarchan sonnet has an octave and a sestet. This was not meant to be a Shakespearian one. As for some words, yes they may be very English but I feel that most USA residents will recognise them, as I recognise many USA-used words. (I suspect you'll have looked them up!). I find many attractive words that are particularly USA. So thank you for comments. I do appreciate them, because it helps me.

[Lisasview]

As I am new to sonnets I have not yet tried Petrachen yet... but I will..
Yes, I will need to look up the words that I do not know...These are not words commonly used in the United States...
Lisa, now in Spain