Near Silence Except:

Every night I can sleep deep

after receiving the right amount of cool atmosphere and the near silence,

Except I sometimes listen to the abstract creatures reassessing the dirt inside the attic-

Auditing each other’s nakedness with blind eyes, 

or the heating boards creak-

the partner walks down and upstairs

The neighbours are reaching the peak of near silence,

Except!

Suddenly the brother and the sister speak out loudly about their plannings and disagreements-

The ninety-year-old mother wept silently- when she couldn't bear their harsh words!

Rarely the unknown police van's screeching tyres break the near silent hour!

Are we trying to write about the past silences using the present tense!

We all admit that silence has its own social sound 

Bearing in mind that silence connects outer landscape with the inner.

As a colonial subject I cannot play with metaphors and remain consistent.

The shadow of discontent might pop up inside the 

Troubled waters of Simon and Garfunkel.

The dead spirit got curious during Covid 19 which whispered about own dissatisfaction- so open and vulnerable, at the same time?

I sit up in the middle of the night documenting the shrill songs of the mice behind the skirting boards.

Authentic, raw voices take the shape of subjective poems which you listen to along with my poor partner and my dead mum who was unaware of my real self

Shattering the silence except no more pruning of words!

by Nandini Sen