S2 E12: The Spring Has Many Silences by Laura Riding Jackson

Posted byRebecca BuddPosted inOn Location, Poetry in the Evening, Reading RoomTags:, , , , ,

I am on location on Burnaby Mountain, Simon Fraser University Campus. Spring will soon turn into summer. The Spring Has Many Silences by Laura Riding Jackson is a wonderful way to say thank you to a season that awakens the earth.

Please join me in reciting “The Spring has Many Silences”

The Spring Has Many Silences

by Laura Riding Jackson

The spring has many sounds:
Roller skates grind the pavement to noisy dust.
Birds chop the still air into small melodies.
The wind forgets to be the weather for a time
And whispers old advice for summer.
The sea stretches itself
And gently creaks and cracks its bones….

The spring has many silences:
Buds are mysteriously unbound
With a discreet significance,
And buds say nothing.

There are things that even the wind will not betray.
Earth puts her finger to her lips
And muffles there her quiet, quick activity….

Do not wonder at me
That I am hushed
This April night beside you.

The spring has many silences.

Born in 1901, the poet Laura Riding Jackson authored many books of poetry and prose. For more information on Laura Riding Jackson, please visit Poets.org, the Academy of American Poets.

This poem is in public domain. “The Spring Has Many Silences” first appeared in the Lyric V, no. 4 (April, 1925).

Photography and recitation by Rebecca Budd

Music by Johannes Bornlöf “Ethos” #EpidemicSound

Location: Burnaby Mountain Simon Fraser University Campus

Celebrating World Poetry Day with Carrie Williams Clifford – Rebecca's Reading Room

Published by Rebecca Budd

Blogger, Visual Storyteller, Podcaster, Traveler and Life-long Learner

9 thoughts on “S2 E12: The Spring Has Many Silences by Laura Riding Jackson”

    1. Thank you, Margaret. I have found that reciting poetry is a meditative experience, especially when reciting in nature. I started by reciting poetry to an empty room and then found that when the words were given voice, magic happened.

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    1. Laura Riding Jackson had a complicated life which comes through her poetry. In fact, at one point around 1941, she renounced poetry and withdrew from public literary life to work on a dictionary. She did come back in time, but I need to do more research on her later writings. There is always a back story to a story….and then there is poetry.

      Liked by 1 person

      1. Isn’t that interesting. I never would have thought a poet would renounce poetry to work on a dictionary, although I suppose a dictionary doesn’t fall victim to the whims of the muse.

        Liked by 1 person

      2. Sorry I haven’t respond sooner, Liz. Our internet provider is having difficulties so we have been in and out of WIFI for since this afternoon. It was a reminder for me of how dependent we have become on internet access for connection and community. This was the first time that I have heard of anyone renouncing poetry, so now I’m curious to see why.

        Liked by 1 person

      3. I hate it when my internet goes down. I feel like I’ve been set adrift in the middle of the ocean with no land in sight. I look forward to hearing what you find out about the poetry renunciation.

        Liked by 1 person

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