The Solace in the Silence

Listening to the guitar playing of David Gilmour makes me appreciate the beauty of silence, the silent (pauses) between his playing. The silence in-between his chords, when he plays a chord… strums/plucks the string/s … and then waits….. that waiting for the next chord to me is at times the best part of his music. That for me is what makes Gilmour such a magnificent guitarist, to me he is the master of the sublime and the understated. To make a statement or impression one does not need to make a noise, neither does one as a guitarist need to rip, shred or wail.

The pause resonates, this then took my mind off on one of its (many) tangents. 🙂

The importance of the unsaid versus the said, the importance of what is not said, in the moments of silence. Interestingly my favourite Pink Floyd album is Wish You Were Here, and it is ironic, that the album explores themes of absence (silence). The lyrics encompass Roger Waters’ feelings of alienation from other people, notably within the band and the tension that they were experiencing.

Well back to my musings of the silence between the chords and let’s explore this dynamic in life; let’s explore how the silent conversations can benefit our relationships and way of life. The comfort of being in someone’s presence and just being … silent …. the silent conversations we have with a loved one or close friend. This silence does not alienate, but brings us closer together, we find comfort, solace in the silence. The importance of silence in conversation can carry more weight than the spoken word.

The silence echoes around the enclosed walls of our minds, encouraging us to break down the alienation and find solace in the silence, and learn the importance of being silent, quiet … amongst those we feel close too, and then taking this silence out into the rushed and frenetic world in which we live. This can help us to slow down in the fast-paced world we live in, for when speed is king, anyone or anything that gets in our way, that slows us down, becomes an enemy. Thanks to speed, we are living in the age of rage. That too is ironic, the fast pace of life alienates more than the comfort we can find in silence.

© 2024 michael d emmerich

© 2024 mikesnexus.com

Lost Shadows of Reticence

at the centre of his imagination
all is blurred or veiled
this continual tussle between
reveal or shadow

inevitably creating a journey of suspense
allowing for at times,
no resolution or closure
retreating into these lost shadows

this private reticence
of an untold, nay oft told story
out of sight, off camera
might become an annoyance

but is it not the journey
rather than that, never reached destination
that casts the longer shadow
and matters more?

© 2021 michael d emmerich

© 2021 mikesnexus.com

What is Home?

home is where we start

but not where were it ends

the pathway from birth to death

is littered with choices



collected, used, stored, discarded

some stones sparkle and tempt

others lie cracked, damaged, exposed

by life's harsh realities



yet there is value in these damaged stones

and then, one day, I will die somewhere

against my will or another’s

but not today
© 2020 michael d emmerich
© 2020 mikesnexus.com

Life Matters

“Our interest in death and illness is nothing but a way of expressing an interest in life” Thomas Mann – my poem below is written from a medical perspective – every life matters and has value

air goes in and out

blood goes round and round

that says the medic

keeps you alive



in sickness and death

illness and injury

not all goes as it should

this is well noted



blood and guts

sickness and death

that last …..

potential breath

affirms our quest



intimacy with death

fuels our passion

in life in its abundance

ours

and yours …

the next patient?
© 2017 / 2019 michael d emmerich

life matters

Chasing Rainbows

the moon behind my back

with shadows stretching out before,

distorting, lengthening, changing

the way that lies ahead



standing in the gray

hoping to arrive

as I keep chasing rainbows

to dry my tears
© 2019 michael d emmerich
© 2019 mikesnexus

A Life Discarded

rolling highways of aging steel

spikes of steel arching upwards

stretching from here to wherever

even possibly infinity



remnants of a life discarded

frantically clinging to rusted spikes

as the blustery wind plucks and rips

desperately trying to set them free



these cast aside fragments

finally break free to fly

but only to be caught

by yet another highway of steel



which proceeds to agonisingly

shred, rip, tear

more of its life away

right down to the marrow
© 2019 michael d emmerich
© 2019 mikesnexus

Not Yet

it's not dark yet
it's not tomorrow yet
the sun has not set yet
no need to fret yet
nothing to regret yet
you have not broken yet
so no need to fret
.....
yet ....

© 2018 michael d emmerich

© 2018 mikesnexus.com

 

Shattered and Drawn

love gone to waste

lost never to be replaced

myriad shattered reflections

broken and lost connections



ice bullets, cutting straight and true

turning all my tears to blue

strewn with guilt

enfolding me with its emotional quilt



that jig-saw visage

reflecting through the passage

of a shattered past

stares back as one outcast



futility of anguished tears

failing to wash away the fears

leaving in its wake

one battered, bruised

shattered and drawn

© 2018 michael d emmerich

© 2018 mikesnexus.com

 

Voices

Sitting alone on a remote site, in my small tent for the night, cold outside. No contact all alone, after a while it gets a tad claustrophobic, no matter how wide the horizon.

 

voices, I hear voices

who is that

that still small voice

sounds so familiar

oh, it’s just me



starting to sound distant

I’ll just keep calling

hoping against hope

that the door opens

to where?



at last it opens

but wait, there is no one there

that still small voice

chasing me away

saying begone



no solace

walls close in

horizon stretches beyond

longing for contact

 that human touch

at last

….

oh, it’s just me


© 2018 Michael D Emmerich

Black Mist

rollin’ and a tumblin’ it draws nigh

no warning bell tolls

this boiling tempestuous darkness

a mist of uncertainty

splashed with crimson



wrapping you in its threadbare

torn black shroud

black as the coal driven snow

no protection afforded

from the shards of blackness

…..

releasing, enveloping

or entombing?

© 2018 michael d emmerich