No one knows that she talks
to me, spills her days in lovely
chatter-songs that wake me
every morning and bed me at night.
With others, silence marks her
as aloof or elusive or even enigmatic,
but she’s not really a question.
More a comma, a pause
when she crooks her neck
slightly to the left, weighing
what to say and decides to say
nothing.
Why fill silence with words when
it isn’t empty of meaning? She asks
for the curve of my inner ear
its fine vibrating bones, not my poetry.
Which makes me uncertain until
she smiles, leans in and mouths my name,
its vowels and open sounds.
They say her native language is written to mimic
the mouth in speech. How to open the lips
and where to put the tongue are half-lines
and circles, illustrating human sounds.
Her voice brushes my skin, soft
as breath, quiet as a heartbeat,
and this is how I hear her.
Lovely and lyrical, Ami. I especially like "the curve of my inner ear...." and "where to put the tongue are half-lines/ and circles".
ReplyDeletemaybe i am just...but this is very sensual to me...and tender....i like it.
ReplyDeleteSome beautiful lines here, but this is more than a sum of parts, listed or unlisted. it's a vignette of the heart. I like it when I can clearly hear your voice as well, speaking and listening.
ReplyDeleteOh my, this language sounds like a useful one indeed! *throws away my Berlitz book*
ReplyDeleteI love that she's not a question but a comma. Such a language/silence love affair.
ReplyDeleteI need to spend more time being quiet. =)
Another beautiful poem... another of Ami's quotable quotes :)
ReplyDeleteWhy fill silence with words when
it isn’t empty of meaning?
Cheers