I
Laying in bed, awoken to a sudden silence.
Darkness thick like a blanket. I can’t see.
My eyelashes brush against the pillow.
They sound loud. Grating. Brittle.
My fingers reach from under the blankets.
Groping slowly, tips flared back from palms.
A cool corded neck brushes my wrist.
The lamp, as cold and dead as a cod.
Down my hand travels. Confident now.
BANG! I forgot what I left there that fell.
Hands pull back and I push myself up.
Feet drop down through cooling air.
The floor comes too soon. OuCh!
The stillness is thick. Breath loud.
The electric hum of our life dead.
There is no silence like it, that
takes our sight on a dark night.
II
I stand, face to the early spring sun.
So bright I close my eyes to it.
Let my senses tell me about things.
CrEaK! That broken branch rubs
crying a death song in the wind.
TAPPPPP TAPPPPP TAPPPPP
Rustle. Thwwwwwwop. Two!
Woodpeckers start the ritual.
Clouds make the air chill,
and my eyelids flutter against
the shadows they throw down.
CrUnCh! cRuNcH! The snow
breaks under dog feet running.
Thssssssssssssssip. Thssssssssssip.
Tires on asphalt covered in melt.
I can almost feel their passing me.
III
I close my eyes. My fingers seek them.
Two nubs. F and J. The ‘home keys’.
I can type blind, and fast, if they I find.
A new keyboard is slower though.
Why can’t they all be the same?
Waiting for inspiration, eyes closed.
I rub the keys, worn smooth from touch.
Fingers brushing F and J. F and J. Home.
If only I could find a place that felt
that good to the touch. That made sure
my words, and world, made sense.
I can type blind with my homekeys found.
Without them I am flying blind. Making
no sense. No words that matter. A cat
chasing shadows on a keyboard left
unattended, or by a muse gone quiet.
IV
Close your eyes. Don’t make eye contact.
Keep still. Very still. Feel the seeds in your hand.
Listen for them. Twittering. Flying. You can HEAR.
Did you know that? Wings sound so LOUD when you
aren’t looking for them, or counting their beating flight.
I wait, still. Listening. FEELING their approach. Cautious.
The bold chickadee challenges me, but wants the seeds too.
She lands, sharp feet holding tight to my skin. I don’t flinch.
Suddenly a rush of air, hard feathers dust my skin and she’s gone.
A fly by, a feeding bomb done by a woodpecker. I stand, alone. Again.
Brian has us thinking about being blind, or being without sight as we compose poetry for dVerse. So often we use our sight, even in our comments, “I can see that!” but there are other senses that can also convey the story when we lose, close or bind our eyes. I will try later to do a blind contour drawing to add here. Until then, visit the other amazing poets taking on this challenge!
Sunflower Poetry 