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


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