Some Sounds Easily Missed
In the beginning
When only sacred words
Were ever spoken
Each syllable was clearly
Broken
Then torn from the throat
With a cough and a cuss ..
While
The young uns of course
Without barely a fuss
Would all listen intently
From what they each
Thought
A safe distance …
Oh’ boy did they marvel
And gawp
At the sound his cupped
Hand
Occasionally made,
Like a shell
Juxtaposed a’gen waves
Like an unborn lamb, or a bud
Or a leaf
Gasping and gagging and
Scratching for air …
Aye, but since we are now
Both fully growed up
Can you imagine the sound
Of sheer joy
A wild salmon might make
Breaking free
From the constraints
Of a weir …
Then for a moment, no more
The rest is but a tumble
Of noise
Barely more than
An utterance, yet coupled
Against
A few muffled occasional sighs …