Monday, February 16, 2015

The Echo of Silence



Also linking with Poetry Jam for the prompt "Silence".



Silence is a text easy to misread.  ~A.A. Attanasio



Ignorance is a dark hall that seems to have no doors.
Where wisdom has no voice that fools can soon ignore.
And truth can be a luxury when it is nowhere to be found
as secrets can deceive like lies when they do abound.
For the truth holds a certain power like a shelter in the rain
and when it is abandoned it leaves one vulnerable to more pain.




When I was around 4 years old we had a gold fish that lived in a bowl on top of our console television.  One day I was left in the house alone while the family was doing some yard work.  I got the wonderful idea to feed the fish.  Everyone else was doing something productive and I wanted to do something to.  So I decided to get the little shaker bottle of fish food and make myself useful.  Once I started pouring it seemed that more would be better than less, after all, it was probably very hungry.  The rest of the story speaks for itself.  You know the outcome.  Too much dinner for fish is a certain death indeed.  A few hours later I heard the sad gasp of my mother as she discovered the fish floating on the top of the water.  At the time I did not realize what I had actually done.  It was not until I was older that I put two and two together.  You see, ignorance is not always kind.  At least not for the poor gold fish in a fish bowl.  Not knowing what I had done, was less painful for me at 4 years old, but if someone had shown me how to feed them and why, maybe little Goldie would have lived a longer life.  The echo of silence tends to be a sad sound indeed.

27 comments:

  1. So much could be avoided if ignorance was not so well spread! There is what happens when one is 4 and then what happens when one is 40...

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  2. when truth is abandoned...especially for convenience...much is lost...ignorance is too convenient...the easy path....many will take it...

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  3. Brilliantly written. I loved the last two lines! :)

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  4. Truth is definitely our great refuge. We abandon it at our own peril and suffer...wise lines Carrie...

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  5. Truth denies and that hurts. But many still take the same route!

    Hank

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  6. A dark hall indeed, but for some an easy road. Enlightenment often takes searching and digging and the empathy to understand. Excellent poem.

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  7. Ignorance is not bliss, especially for a little fish and a 4 year old... or a 7 year old with a duckling. I was given a little duckling what I was 7 and being the nurturing kind set the little duckling up in a little enclosure. I made sure it had food, water, shade and somewhere to swim in. But I made one fatal mistake... I didn't know that not only did I need to leave a ramp for the duckling to get in the water... I should have also left one for him to get out. :-( I agree with you Carrie...being informed is important and sometimes even critical!! This was a great Mag!!

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  8. So true...in many cases, if silence did not prevail, people would be better off. It is better to give information than to withhold it. Sad story about the fish...sadly, you had good intentions.

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  9. When its time for the truth, it should never be pushed to the dungeons of silence....So well articulated!!

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  10. Ignorance may be bliss for the ignorant, but pretty torturous for the informed!

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  11. Ah yes, that dark hall known as ignorance...

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  12. Ahhhh....never mind, Carrie.....when I was a nipper I thought I'd treat the little fish I'd just scooped from the burn into 'nice clean warm water' . Boiled the lot of the poor little blighters............

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  13. you made me think !

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  14. That first line really packs a punch as it is filled with truth. With knowledge we can make wiser decision. Your words are filled with wisdom.

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  15. Ignorance is bliss they say, but as you point out, with age comes understanding and knowledge and the echoes of silence that scream their way into our head... Beautifully penned, Carrie.

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  16. "And truth can be a luxury when it is nowhere to be found"
    this certainly is my favourite line; nice write

    Thanks for stopping to read my response at LunchBreak
    i wish to invite you to link up also to Monday WRites whwere the link opens on a Monday and stays open 7 days, hope to see you there
    http://myblog-verses.blogspot.com/2015/02/25.html

    much love...

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  17. Touching words. May we all have "Shelter in the rain".
    Poignant true story.
    It sure taught you a lesson fro life, Carrie.
    Ignorance is bliss sometimes, but not when there's such outcome...

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  18. Sad story about the fish.

    I like your poem about ignorance, especially the first line.

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  19. Carrie,
    I will email you my little horror for it is too embarrassing to reveal here!

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  20. whether it is abandoned or never known… powerful truth here in this poem. I also like the sad story of you goldfish.

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  21. Ignorance is not always blissful, especially if you are on the receiving end of someones unintentional mistake

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  22. Poor little Goldie...you were just trying to help...

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  23. aww poor goldie!!! :S

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  24. I recall i managed to push the electric light into the fish-tank.. I had a little doubt if it was wise to put my hands down into the tank and pulled it up... so I called my mother at work.. and she told me it was unwise, and told me to unplug it.. But the fish was safe...

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  25. Not your fault ... after all you weren't aware.

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"Our best thoughts come from others." ~Ralph Waldo Emerson