Vibrations
The Blind Shall See, the Deaf Shall Hear
the fingers of her right hand
rest lightly
upon the slightly
raised covercle
of the polished baby grand
***
vibrations rise
through her arm
to her lips
taste buds savoring
flavors she has never known
bitter
sweet
salty
sour
savory
forming chords
& cadences
upon her tongue
wild crescendos
haunting
subtle nuances
sensual combinations
no epicure ever knew
***
receptors
above
hidden within
nasal cavaties
begin to tremble
transcending glomeruli
to the olfactory bulb
stirring memory
& emotion
she breathes deeply
of fragrant meadows
baking bread
sudden dread
alarming pungency
& acidity
as tears form
in sightless eyes
***
ossicles
forever unconcerned
with their tympanic membranes
begin to move
to dance
with sounds
not once perceived
through the outer ears
as rhythms drum
strings sing
flutes soothe
clarinets caress
saxophones swing
brass proclaim
with harmonies
& dissonance
hitherto unimagined
causing fluids to swirl
in canals vestibular
losing all sense of balance
in the moment
she fingers her cane
her head spins
but she is restored
***
opercula flutter now
brushing back the sting of tears
wrung by torturous beauty
as once occluded light
ever denied by cornea & lenses darkened
bursts through neglected retinas
sweeping to superior colliculus & back
photopic
scotopic
& mesopic vision
combine
in a kaleidoscope of wonder
a symphony of color
a dazzling array
once unimagined
becoming real
vibrations slow
lessening impact
end
her world once again
silent & dark
she lowers her right hand
joining with her left
atop her cane
the lesson over
she rises
tapping her way
finds the door
& departs
About the Creator
Randy Wayne Jellison-Knock
Retired Ordained Elder in The United Methodist Church having served for a total of 30 years in Missouri, South Dakota & Kansas.
Born in Watertown, SD on 9/26/1959. Married to Sandra Jellison-Knock on 1/24/1986. One son, Keenan, deceased.
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"Whoever that wish death on me will be the first to di£ unless I'm guilty of what you people are accusing me of" — Sam Larry
A lot of fans are still mourning Mohbad's death months after he died. The news of his death shocked Nigerian citizens and his fans in the diaspora. People love Mohbad for being calm as a dove, and his lyrics were also second to none.
By Hassan Arewa2 days ago in Poets
Comments (25)
We take so much for granted, but I am thoroughly impressed with your grasp of anatomy and physiology!!! Nailed it!!!
I love the idea of tasting sounds. This was excellent, Randy. I was fully immersed in it.
I love the descriptive tone of this piece Randy.
I really hope this places in the challenge. This is extraordinary! Love it ❤️
So good! Well done!! ❤️💕
lovely piece! really a great way to emphasize with and describe helen keller's journey.
What an amazing sensorial journey that was. So many beautiful descriptive words which added to the overall tone you were after...Impressive, Randy.
Everything is so tangible in the female senses. It's great that you brought to life a woman who never gave up, who overcame the obstacles of indifference and I feel that in your poem looped like a lost melody. Well done!
Outstanding take on the Challenge. Wow
Magnificent Randy! They say a picture paints a 1000 words. Inversely, your poem is like a film, a masterpiece of sensory detail, each chosen word a frame.
Magical! Very inventive and heart warming! 😊❤️
I am not sure I can put it better than everyone else but you knocked it out the park with this one! the mix of science and poetry felt like such atreat to read and experience! breathtaking!
Awesome Randy❗😉
You are such a gifted writer Randy! Really enjoyed every line of this piece!
This was gorgeous, Randy!! Such delicious descriptions- a sensory experience all throughout!! 👏👏❤️ - I don’t think it makes any difference to the beauty of your poem but since I saw you responded to Heather’s comment here saying that you wanted to be as accurate as possible, I’ll just suggest that you probably meant the fluid swirling in the semicircular canals of the vestibular system (rather than the Eustachian tubes).
Whoaaa, this was a magnificent masterpiece! I got so excited when I saw glomeruli and ossicles. Don't ask why, I'm just weird like that, lol! I immensely enjoyed this poem, Randy!
Amazing, amazing, amazing! Really compelling imagery, engaging, and moving. Nicely done💙Anneliese
Woah, Randy!!! I had goosebumps through this entire piece! Your imagery was next level, and this take on the challenge was absolutely brilliant! I sat in awe and totally speechless for at least five minutes after reading this! Bravo!
Wow! This is beautiful, expressive, eye-opening, inspirational, and so many more things! I really love the idea of this - definitely a fantastic take on the challenge!
Wow, terrific idea beautifully executed Randy. Beyond that, I'm at present literally speechless!! 👏👏👏
Giving you a standing ovation for this one!! Wow, Randy. I am seriously impressed. I love the way you built this up and up only to hit that peak and float back down. Fantastic use of scientific terms as well. Loved it!!
What an epic and extremely well written piece! I have goosebumps!
Really nice. They say that when one sense is lost, the others increase. That’s for sure true for me, and I’m only blind in one eye, visually impaired in the other. So my sense of hearing is insane. I can’t imagine what life was like for someone deaf and blind, but you wrote this like you can!
Wow, well done . 👌
I can feel the vibrations from your words. Great poem