Sound of silence

A mother's reminiscence of what was once a home

I walk around the house aimlessly,

          listening to the sound of silence;

Gone are the squabbles and the small fights

         Gone are the long waits on a dark night

         when I prayed, for you to be safe.

I walk through the empty space

          gathering the whispers of the dry leaves

          and put them in an empty sack

People around say

         There goes the crazy woman

         There goes the crazy woman ... they say

          She is putting nothing into an empty bag

But I move on

          On a path unknown

          A journey with no end

I walk on

          carrying my empty sac

          picking up twigs and leaves

and hope that someday

        someday

        I will hear the sound of silence again

Reviews

[John the Baptist]

We see in this one a person who no longer occupies a role with which she identified for many years. It appears she is the last member of her immediate family still around, and she is dealing with a loss of purpose in her life. The empty sack mentioned is a symbol of the family for which she cared so long; she keeps trying to fill it, to no avail. She is just going through the motions listlessly, not knowing where her life will go. The last line has a sense of foreboding to it. It could be an unspoken wish for death.

[Chris Shaw]

Your poem spoke strongly to me of empty nest syndrome. When my daughter left home, I felt quite lost, and it took some time for those feelings, and they were similar to grief to wear off. The house seemed so empty, I didn't have to cook for her or do her washing, and all those other things that us mums do. I needn't have worried, years later, circumstances change and all three of her children have been living with me. For a long while, and now it is their turn to fly the nest. Yes, the silence will come again, but this time I know how to deal with it. We have to find new interests. Thank you Sharda for the journey your poem has taken me on.

Chris