Noise

The dog's barking grates on my nerves
I hear her echoing through the house
And wonder how no one else has woken up
In the midst of all the noise
I realize how much silence is lost in a day
We spend so long and expend so much effort
Trying to find the right things to say
We waste time
Filling awkward pauses with intellectual silence
And not appreciating the resounding quiet
The moment after the last note rings out
And no one is sure whether the song is over
Is beautiful
Or accidentally walking into
A stunning sunrise
Is breathtaking
Yet we try to find time to ignore the wordless
Always needing something to distract our minds
Large amounts of white noise that fill a space
But what is it all worth?
I try to find the time for silence
But this world just won't stop talking
And it's blinding out my search for solitude
With the deafening roar of indifference
I can't hear You above the noise
That calls out to me every waking moment
Although sometimes, when I least expect it,
I find a moment of peace
Listen, the dog has stopped barking

Portrait of My Mother

She sits, working on her laptop

Her hair pulled back on her head,

And she looks like a Greek goddess

Even though I can see the lines around her mouth

And smile lines on her eyes,

She doesn’t look anywhere near her age

As she tries to decide what to do on the upcoming family vacation

She listens to country music

Because it’s happy and upbeat

She gets frustrated with little technological things

But she tries to learn and understand

In the past two years, she’s turned into quite the scholar

The stay-at-home-mom I used to know

Has disappeared forever, I fear

School and work have taken the place

Of all the time she used to spend cleaning

And organizing play dates

We used to go to the library at least once a week

And the park

But now we fend for ourselves in terms of free time

And I can tell the difference in my brothers

Because they don’t appreciate the small things like I do

My mother taught me to see beauty

In everything

And I do

Because although things have changed

And will continue to do so

I will never forget what I was told as a kid

That making the most of what you have

Is better than having it all

Happy birthday, Mom. I love you.