how much time spent
speaking only through
this silence
playing the ball
because I could not
yet, play the man--
swinging tight within
the strike zone
and spinning it far
into the outfield
where the sun glints
bright beyond the tip
of the outstretched glove
and blinds the eye
to what's propelled from above?
elPintor
Tue 18th Apr 2017 02:18
Hey there, Colin..thanks for telling the story about the young man. That's very close to the scenario I had in mind when I wrote this, though I did try to use baseball-related idioms and metaphor to describe attempts at communication with those who are more "wordy". I read an article once about selective muteness which described it as anxiety disorder, but, the piece doesn't really exclude silence as a choice. Sometimes it's just easier.
Thanks for reading and commenting, Colin.
elP
<Deleted User> (13762)
Sun 16th Apr 2017 09:52
always difficult to pin down your exact meaning elP but - taken literally - I knew a teenage boy who chose not to speak, but instead of baseball he played football/soccer. There is so much here which seems to fit his situation although I can't confess I knew him well, he was the son of a friend. I have no idea what triggered his self-imposed silence (he did speak sparingly to a few close family and friends during that time) but your second verse maybe suggests an answer. I wonder also whether he felt his voice was lost within a large family - a household where many outside and fleeting visitors regularly stayed. And through it all he played football for his local team and now, as far as I know, is a well-adjusted twenty-something with a job and partner. Thanks, Colin.
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elPintor
Tue 18th Apr 2017 22:44
Hey, David..thanks for commenting. I realize that I don't often approach things straightforwardly, so I can appreciate the fact that anyone might want to hold off until a little light can be shed.
Silence is hard to read, obviously. As to whether it is a conscious choice or imposed by some internal force can be impossible to decipher from the outside. Maybe a better question than what silence may indicate of a non-speaker, is why they do not speak. That is, are there external circumstances that exacerbate persistent silence from an, otherwise, capable speaker?
Just more questions and fuel for the fire..thanks for expanding.
elP
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iuQQIawCqBA