Cat purring right by my face at night;
the MGM lion roaring;
the rain on a hot summer night, windows open;
Russian Easter Bells -once you've heard them, all other bells are but "noisy gongs";
wind chimes;
the wind in the trees, shaking their summits when it is really windy, whispering, exhaling, singing;
the wind howling in the chimney on a cold winter day;
owls hooting;
voices in the distance when one is asleep: they are muffled but you know you are not alone;
waterfalls;
waves lapping at the seaside; and
waves crashing on rocks during a storm;
the crunch of footsteps crushing newly fallen snow;
the rustle of silk;
drums in a circle of joy;
the noise the steam iron makes whenever I decide to iron accumulated laundry: it echoes my sighs…
the "psscchht" of champagne being poured into a flute; and
the "pop" of the champagne bottle being opened;
cicadas in summer;
dry leaves being raked;
squirrels sending signals sounding like policemen’s whistles;
birds chirping at 4:00am in the spring;
magpies on the lawn in Canberra;
seagulls by the seaside;
neighborhood flagpoles in the wind playing masts and sails on a sailing boat;
the fire cracking in the fireplace when I add pinecones and roast chestnuts;
a train tooting in the night;
the muezzin calling to prayer in East Jerusalem; and
the Kaddish sung at Auschwitz…

October 10, 2009
©Sarah Diligenti’s Poems - The Quill and The Brush