The Sound of Silence (Guest Post by Patty Johnson)

The beautiful poem below was written by Patty Johnson.  She shared it with me and I asked her permission to post on my blog to share with all of you.  Patty wrote this shortly after her youngest son, Jaime, left for college and left their home an empty nest.  Her words touch the hearts of all mothers.  I felt it was so fitting to post this just prior to Mother's Day weekend as I am sure many can relate to Patty's feelings of her ordinary days with her child now turned into cherished memories of days past.

The Sound of Silence

by Patty Johnson

I miss the smells of sausage in the morning

The look of boredom at midday

Of kitchen invasion moments after the last dish is put away

And last minute requests for the next day

The pungent smell of a young boy’s room

Dirty footsteps that trail the floor

Grass stains from mowing inside the door

The wonder of a full moon

I miss the look of a next day "reminder"

Books scattered throughout the room

Uniform completely unkempt

Stress of lateness and look of doom

Now I feel the wanting of an empty dishwasher

The quietness of our stove

The door that doesn't slam

And the boats just "sit" in our cove

Where are the smells we hate to love?

The "run" to the store that we expect

No more dinners we have to think of

Or waiting for the end of practice

Do we listen for the closeness of the sirens?

Watch the news for details of accidents

Can we escape the days of worry now

What is this sound of silence?

Where are the memories on the kitchen counter this morning?

Of a baby who grew during the night

And took over our waking moments

And grew to eighteen in the blink of a light

Might the pain that envelopes our heart

Evaporate into thin air

If we longed for not a care

And not even know that he was ever here

For even with pain

and the silence of sound

Tears mean we have been loved

We remember a hug that only a mother knows of

It's the one he gave you

when he was just three

A smile meant only for you

A gift only for thee

It's a hug and a smile that you won't ever forget

Even on days when you thought you could go on no more

But found the energy for one more task

To help with projects and the spill on the floor

It's the laughter of him and his friends by his side

And the litter of children strewn at our feet

Happiness of treats at the 3 o'clock tide

Of these, the warmth grows deep, deep inside.

So now we must contend with the sound of silence

And remember the squeeze that took our breath away

We push the void to a place outside our heart

Replace the tears with memories from that day



Jaime and his mom, Patty