The Age of Noise
April 23 2024
Krakatoa
was the loudest sound on earth
we know of.
When the crust cracked open
the planet shook,
and the end of the world
seemed to have come.
Perhaps
in the distant past
the noise was even louder;
in the age of volcanoes
when earth was at its hottest.
Krakatoa
a thousand times over.
While now
in this age of noise
it feels just as unbearable;
ash raining down,
gases exploding,
volcanic thunderstorms.
Especially noise
we can’t control.
The thump of a stereo.
Loud footsteps overhead.
Screens right and left,
where talking heads
shout across a table,
and breaking news
and ads for beer
are both turned up to max.
The machines
that constantly throb, buzz, clatter,
the grinding gears,
honking horns,
endless pointless blather.
So when I found this peaceful refuge
I felt sublimely relieved;
the quiet
I’ve been seeking all my life.
Who knew, there is no such thing.
Not when the sounds of my body
seem so much louder in the silence.
Not when I’m kept on edge
from breath to breath
and between each beat of my heart;
the thin thread
that’s one more second of life.
No absolute silence
when there’s no escaping
the noises in my head.
When even the dead
speak to me,
and that inner voice
refuses to be stilled.
When the white noise
I could always tune out
comes through loud and clear,
and even the song I love
gets stuck in a loop
I’m unable to unhear.
Krakatoa resounded
for over 3,000 miles
and the whole world heard.
While these sounds from inside
are mine alone,
yet louder, somehow.
All the worse
because I don’t know how to silence them
have nowhere to escape.
In this age of noise
it’s volcanoes erupting
one after the other
blacking out the sky.
Considering how much noise we inflict on the planet (as well as on ourselves!), it's nice to know that nature still has the better of us. Even at our loudest: techno, jackhammers, jet engines, hydrogen bombs.
From the April 22 & 29, 2024 New Yorker: What Is Noise?
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