Walk & Listen – Or Not

Welcome back to my series of song-inspired poems! We’re at 39 this week, very close to 40 (and therefore 50, which will mark me being a quarter done with this project!). This poem does centre a lot around sound and hearing, which I feel works quite well for a poem in this series–as well as it, obviously, being inspired by this week’s song, ‘Get The Funk Out’ by Extreme. I hope you enjoy reading through this one!

First Poem In This Series: To Witness, To Behold, inspired by ‘Sowing The Seeds Of Love’ by Tears For Fears

Previous Poem In This Series: Ink From Stardust, inspired by ‘Never Meant to Know’ by Tally Hall

Walk & Listen – Or Not

There is a sound to everything,
and there are two people walking
down the same street–one hears all,
curses all, wonders why strangled notes,
thicker than smoke clouds, must waft
from every doorway, every cracked
open window; they thrum through the metal
of car doors, and fly out in tinny squawks
from headphones–even the train thunders
overhead, the sky cackles in encroaching storm,
every tyre squeals against the tarmac
and the birds are out in force today;
this person grinds their teeth.

The other is reminded of how loud it is
to be alive, and tries to remember
that word, the one that describes
others living their lives, the wonder
of remembering you are not alone
in your singularity–this other smiles
at even the fighting growl of the bus’s engine–
it proves we all must try, even if the incline
feels insurmountable at times; church bells
are reminders of centuries of footsteps,
and every musical note on the wind
is a fleeting representative of its origin:
this person smiles as they move.

Ah, I apologise–the notes have been mixed up;
someone seems to have cut away the ending,
and there is a strongly-worded note
in red ink–let’s discard that, shall we?

As it turns out, there is a third;
this one remembered that earphones exist
and walks unfazed by joy or pain
at the auditory presence of the world.

And if all three did just so happen
to be the very same person, then,
well, is that not just a perfect
example of the diversity of humanity?