Sounds of the Desert
What is the sound I hear?
Silence is the sound of the desert
With only a few exceptions
The millions of stars in the nightsky are
silent
The clear blue sky, itself, is silent
The mountains silent
The winter snow silent
Still on a moon lite night
The yelp of the coyote can be heard
He has caught his prey
In the moonlight he and his kind
Form a circle and celebrate
The little pocket mouse
Rarely squeaks
Perhaps just once
When caught by the coyote
The lizard sometimes squeaks and clicks
Defines territory or maybe calls a mate
The hiss of the snake
Is often missed
As he slithers over the sand
If in danger, he might rattle
The call of the hawk
Is often heard echoing in the canyon
The songs of other
birds can be heard
The dainty skunk can
Squeal, growl, coo or hiss
The other sound is the wind in the cotton
wood
Or rustling the leaves of the aspen trees
I loved reading all of the sounds of the desert, and its creatures, so different from where I live, and so interesting. I especially would love to hear the wind in the cottonwoods. Beautiful, Annell.
ReplyDeleteI too loved reading about the sounds of the desert. I know it is the circle of life, but it always saddens me when I hear a coyote yelp after catching its prey. We have them here too, and the sound of a coyote kill in the night is always chilling.
ReplyDeleteThis is such an exotic world of sounds and silence that inspires awe. How wonderfully you've captured them all, Annell! Beautiful.
ReplyDeleteVery nicely done and i can hear the sounds in your poem - I felt sorry for the mouse ! Nicely done
ReplyDeleteThis is great. I felt like I was right there in the desert.
ReplyDeleteA wonderful capturing of the desert sounds Annell. I especially love the line, "the millions of stars in the night sky are silent". Simply beautiful!
ReplyDeleteYou've made the desert come alive for us with its inhabitants' sounds. Love the way you end with "rustlings," leaving that last impression that the "silent" desert is not so silent after all, if you listen. Beautifully written.
ReplyDeleteSo terrific to juxtapose the vivid descriptions of exquisite silence with the sounds that just popped as though you had painted them in my mind.
ReplyDelete