hummingbird at feeder

No Conversation for Hummingbird and Wasp at Table

Here at my country home, I’ve come to know the differences in quiet.

Sometimes, it seems noisy here:
the mockingbird carrying on

the incessant cicadeas

a squawling momma cat protecting her kittens from an eager tomcat

a coyote family howling at dusk
and the dogs chiming in

a flock of chattering blackbirds passing through
or a flock of geese flying over

the wind on a rampage
or whistling through the window screens.

Then there is a quieter time:
the mere chirp of a barn swallow
the hum of a wasp
the whir of hummingbird wings
the breeze in the pine tree…

Then there is silence:
when cats sit without a sound and watch the kittens
chase a leaf
and pounce lightly, silently, on the little leaf

when flowers grow and bloom without a peep

when a spider spins a web

when the milky way appears in the dark blue
or the full moon shimmers on the pond.

Enter a pasture in the morning and you hear a few birds
but you can actually feel the deep quiet penetrating the soul.

And I realize:
the natural world is pretty quiet -
except for the racket we human beings create.

Why is that?