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March 25, 2024

The Scent of Sound

By Judith Alexander Brice

The Scent of Sound

Did you see him today,
that glamoring cardinal as he flitted the snow
then cocked his head to listen to seeds,

-- just for an instant --

cocked his head at the feeder's base?

I'd never been witness
so gave a hard, steady look.

He fast did it again, then plunged
his head straight, down into white --
tipped back out, held on tight,

one clean morsel of sunflower seed
crunched tight in his snow-flaked beak.

Such an orange and determined mouth,
so pointed, so sure.

How did he listen to smell, I pondered
as my mind quick-traveled
a voyage of wonder:

What smells do I neglect to hear
in my busy, tangled world?

My dog's eager breath? My friends' bouquets,
their softing scents of muted thoughts?

Or is it their quiet joys, their silent sorrows,
I forget to attend in my hassled haste
to settle the day?






Article © Judith Alexander Brice. All rights reserved.
Published on 2020-01-27
Image(s) are public domain.
1 Reader Comments
Seamus Norgaard
03/21/2020
01:23:43 PM
Beautiful! One of the messages I take from it is to attend to the grief and sorrows and joys of those around us in these times by simply listening well, hearing and sharing stories. There's a beautiful book with powerful teachings on this by Stephen Levine called "Unattended Sorrows."
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