I live on a fairly quiet side street that gets very little traffic. A row or two of houses and a buffer of trees away, lies a main thoroughfare that gets heavy traffic during the day. Its not too bad at night, but once you have turned off it and on to my street, you aren't so aware of the nearby congestion. Except at night. At night with the world bedded down, one hears sounds not audible during the daylight hours. Haunting train whistles, lone cars that pass in the night, distant sirens...background noise normally not noticed. Nights that protest against my attempts to sleep, find me listening to those sounds. They are not individual sounds that can be separated from each other; but rather a constant drone of silent noise that keeps me awake. Tonight, I again listened to those silent voices.
Wednesday, October 1, 2008
Sounds of Silence
I live on a fairly quiet side street that gets very little traffic. A row or two of houses and a buffer of trees away, lies a main thoroughfare that gets heavy traffic during the day. Its not too bad at night, but once you have turned off it and on to my street, you aren't so aware of the nearby congestion. Except at night. At night with the world bedded down, one hears sounds not audible during the daylight hours. Haunting train whistles, lone cars that pass in the night, distant sirens...background noise normally not noticed. Nights that protest against my attempts to sleep, find me listening to those sounds. They are not individual sounds that can be separated from each other; but rather a constant drone of silent noise that keeps me awake. Tonight, I again listened to those silent voices.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
8 comments:
Hi Pat, I've often been awake and listened to those noises. I wonder where people are driving at 3am and where those trains are bound. I hear a thump and wonder if it's one of the cats or something more sinister.
Marnie
This is wonderfully evocative, Pat.
This is wonderfully evocative, Pat.
thanks wendy, thanks wendy:)
I have certianly had those nights, too.
This was a cool post, including the picture (your house looks very cosy!).
I live in a very rural area, and at night I can hear the train coming through town. Some sounds are great, though--don't you love falling asleep to raindrops coming down on the roof, or to the hushed majesty of a midnight snowfall, when the whole world seems to stand still?
snow..I wish i had snow, but i live too far south. Some day though i hope to be in a more mountainous area!
I'm a former NYer and the sounds of late night traffic are exactly what I needed to lull myself to sleep at night :)
I'm a fellow divorcee and although I'm truly sorry about what you went through, I literally know how you feel, it's nice to know I'm not alone out here. You sound like an amazing woman. I found you through Wendi Aarons. I think she's hilarious and I figured those who "get" her would have blogs I'd like to read and walah! here I am
Post a Comment