Even in the quietest moment
It’s surround- sound
Birds chirping repetitively
Oblivious to nearby tweets and tap tap from neighbouring feathered friends And you think you are alone
But wait, a twig snaps, a cone thuds Earthward
Ears strain beyond the gentle pitter patter of a passing shower
To focus on more distant sounds of humanity
The deep rumbling clatter of a passing train, the drone of a passing boy racer
The gentle rising tempo of acceleration then the whoosh as it passes on its journey It’s all happening in our quietest moments
The passing voices of dogwalkers unturned to their environment.

The melodic tones of the birds
Different pitches, trilling, whistling, songful
The backdrop of distant traffic
Then the roar of thunder outdoing all the other sounds
The splatter of raindrops followed by barking and voices
More shrill cries and a dominant constant and repetitive song
The crunch of feet on returning to base.

Tall fissured spires rise to the skies
Of opalescent blue, grey and yellow
Striding over the mossy, stumpy forest floor
Of scattered cones, logs and tousled feathery grass.
The lilting, warbling, chittering peace
Against distant thunder, train and laughter
As a baffled dog, confused by stranger presence,
Gave layer upon layer to the sounds around.

back again
my favourite stump
sitting here in silence
while the birdsong
ascades round me

back again
my favourite stump
a chilly wind makes
me shiver and
my stiff knee aches

back again
my favourite stump
papery needly dry underneath
moss and the tang
of wood sorrel

back again
my favourite stump
trees a filigree around me
branches in a fretwork
peacefulness in the rain.

As I stood beneath the
cloaked branches of the fir
I heard the trilling birdsong
chorusing in the trees
above.
In the distance the
droning sounds of the passing cars, little did they
know the rustling of the
leaves as the rain hit them.
Thunder rolling past, dog
barking, voices calling.
I am drawn nearer to the
russet-coloured lichen
against the dark brown
bark peeling back from the
trunk.