The Listener

 

(Photo by Markus Spiske, Unsplash)

The Listener

by Dawn Pisturino

As a small child,

I lay in my small bed,

Listening to the mourning doves

Crying softly, "Coo-hoo! Coo-hoo!"

From the woods across the road

In the early morning light.

At night, the owls called to me --

"Who's there? Who's there?" --

A comforting lullaby that

Quieted my childish fears

And lulled me fast to sleep.

The thunder spoke to me

When the rain called my name,

Throwing his fierce lightning bolts

Across the black, menacing sky.

And when the storm passed away,

A hungry mosquito berated me,

Demanding a bloody feast.

~

The world is not a silent place,

Nor a place of peace.

~

As I grew,

The sounds of life grew louder:

Crashing metal when a truck turned over on the icy road.

My mother screaming,

My father shouting,

Then silence. . . when the unknown driver breathed no more.

Published in Hidden in Childhood: A Poetry Anthology (2023), a #1 Amazon bestseller.