Dead Air

these irritably critical conversations

are spreading me thin     like honey scraped

across burnt toast     and I am quite sure

that if I stood naked before your paper lantern

you could see straight through my skin

 

because too much talk reminds me

of being six years old at Huntington Beach

and pressing my hands to my ears each time

the lip of a wave rose up like a startled horse

and planted its wet hooves at my sinking feet

 

there are things to be said     questions

to be answered, explained, detained, drained

until our mouths are deserts on opposite continents,

but you can’t fit an entire ocean in a bottle

and even if you could, would it make more sense

than it does between the horizon and the shore?

 

the chatter on this station is turning to white noise

as we repeat, replay, rehash, reprise     everything

is a looping echo of what we already know

and I am ready to rotate our exhausted dial

until I hear the static sonority of dead air 

Reviews

[Trace]

this is brilliant writing. Much enjoyed. Trace

[Daisy Morgy]

Absolutely loved the descritive language when you described the waves as being horses! Brilliant and well written

To make yourself so thin, and bare, is art.... in your first stanza you speak so well of that....
Sometimes, we are so thin, and fragile, people should see the veins through our skin, to feel we are alive.

You're a sea child, that has been growing up, by the mature, (recognizable) here....
Too many thoughts, and feelings in a high sensitive brain, trying to let it land, feel it translate it to art...

And there are paradoxes, through the many paths of life, we face them, embrace them, see them, kiss them, and are aware of them.

That soundless noise is so much louder, than many can hear, I know you and me do.... "And I'm ready to rotate our exhausted dial" said it all for me.... there is the "sigh" of feeling too much... perceiving too much, and now and then need a brief vacation of the mind.... ;) we can shake hands on that part...

Dead air, is bliss sometimes.... loved this write.

- Elisa

[Mark]

ahh... the 'static sonority' sounds peaceful. When I was young and would be in a group of people I always felt like a martian because I never had the knack for small talk. At the time, I didn't understand that extroverts do much of their thinking by voicing their thoughts. To me, they all sounded like your poem, only I was always puzzled that I was left out of some inside joke, or understanding. Nice work :)

[Girl Friday (Sarah W.)]

You and me both, Mark! Thank you so much!

[Rita L. Sev]

That dead air is preferable to the repetitive phrases of a stale relationship. The images in this piece are amazing, starting with that honey scraped across burnt toast - I feel like I have been there. The third stanza could stand alone in metaphor and message. Wonderful write, Sarah.

[Girl Friday (Sarah W.)]

Thank you so much, Rita...yes, sometimes silence truly is golden!

[Pete Langley]

That was a definite maybe, then, Sarah? What part of no didn`t he understand? This is a sharp alliterative thought stream of exhasperation that makes me glad I wasn`t the object of your frustration! A fine, fluent read with great images. Well done, luv. P.

[Girl Friday (Sarah W.)]

Thank you so much, Pete!

[JayJayBlue]

Another great work, the first few lines were the standout for me :) Keep it up

[Girl Friday (Sarah W.)]

Thank you so much, Jay.

[Einstein Noodle]

yes .. "Dead Air"
well said you rebel you!
seems i read in the Bible once or twice that there is nothing new under the sun ... we do get stuck in cycles it seems ...
even syfy has repeated themes ...
I also really enjoy the imagery in this piece

"that if I stood naked before your paper lantern
you could see straight through my skin"
is superb ...gets even better as one reads on...
nice job says i
E.

[Girl Friday (Sarah W.)]

Cycles...always cycles...thank you so much, my friend!

[WatcherInSilence]

What a beautiful style to complement your beautiful thoughts... Your poem carries a message to the reader, it moves our souls with both its pain and passion. Great work.

[Girl Friday (Sarah W.)]

Thank you so much!

[K. Louis]

i am impressed by this one Sarah...your voice gets better and better. that third stanza..really spoke to me..the whole thing...really well written.

[Girl Friday (Sarah W.)]

Thank you so much, K...means a lot coming from you. Much respect...