My third offering to the FIVES at The Tangled Branch

Aided

Shopping
Clip-clop of a lady's flip flops behind me
Baby's distress, childrens' mirth, employees' radios squelching in the distance
Bottles clinking and items jiggling in a grocery cart,
the clunk of uneven wheels beneath.
Coughing, rustling, sneezing, hustling
Change clank, clitter-clatter in the tray, bills counted out, receipt printing
Car doors slamming, paper bags rustle
Auditory awakening like booming thunder

Driving
Understood all the words to every song on the radio.
Exquisite subtleties of instrumental tones and notes
made me yearn to listen to all the newest music, take in the sounds my ears omitted,
revisit the melodies of my youth, and reminisce in lavish compositions.
I finally caught the static on the radio that I'd been missing – changed stations.
No more driving 10 extra miles past a lane change with my indicators blinking.
The slapping of 4-wheel-drive pick-up truck tires against the pavement,
18-wheeler trailers rattling along, exceedingly menacing.
Those dudes with insufferably loud engines are sure to annoy even more.
I welcome the awakening.

Eating
Overheard a cacophony of chitter-chatter at a café, tried not to eavesdrop.
The register beep and the drawer open,
ice falling and liquid pouring into cups.
The cook frying, something hissing on the grill, the spatula scraping
Heard myself chewing, felt it too
The gulp of a swallow
other patrons' mastication.
Jeez, some folks munch loudly.
Are they too, unaware, noises long gone,
or do digestive sounds become unnoticed over time?

Home
Hearkened a whisper from my youngest. He was delighted.
Understood all the words in every conversation,
much to my eldest's relief, happy to not have to repeat himself - again
Heard the clanking of plates, silverware, and pans in the kitchen - what a racket.
Caught the sound of the dog sigh, then scratch behind his ear,
the eager chomping of his doggy treat, his tail thumping on the floor.
The whirring of my computer and the tapping of my fingers on the keys
Amazing! Water going down the drain, it's insane.


Summary
Every sound I forgot I missed, felt excessive at first
The echo of my own voice in my head and my singing, oh Lord!
It's not as though I hadn't heard these intricacies before,
but they had become lost over time,
neglected by stubbornness, cost, and denial.
Now I receive sound unhindered, with crisp lucidity.
A whole new world awaits to be perceived more clearly.
Suddenly unhindered by my handicap,
it's as if my ears have been colorblind for years.


~Deb

In honor of long gone, Uncle Jack's Birthday. 12/07/194?


This poem started as an unbounded quatrain but too many things flowed to mind and I didn't want to sacrifice anything from the experience while it was fresh. It might be a fun rewrite down the road.

Guess who got hearing aids today? :shock:

I'm sure there is much more to be discovered. Since I wrote this poem, I heard the light switch go on and the tinkle of my pee in the toilet. Too much information? :D I have yet to sit in front of what my grandpa used to call, "The idiot box."