Poems about Silence by the Pop-Up Poetry Club

Written in Together! 2012 CIC’s Pop-Up Poetry Club as part of The Sounds of Silence project for the British Science Festival 2024.

Ellen Goodey: Silence in My Home.

The sun
Silence
Silence.
In my home.
Birds singing.
In the blue sky.
Silence in the trees.
Cars driving past.
People talking.
Silence in my home.

Robert Punton: Silence is golden

Shut all the doors, stop all the windows
Turn off all unnecessary volume, let silence rule the room
The modern clock does not tick nor tock, yet time still passes
As the room takes on its own life, like it is breathing around you
As you breathe in, it breathes out
As you breathe out, it breathes in
It breathes you in, you breathe it in, an intense encounter
As intimate as any relationship you have ever had
Or will ever have throughout your life
The breeze blowing through the open window
Caresses your cheek like the touch of a forbidden lover
You are left wondering does this house have such intimacy
With all its tenants or are you special and unique?
Are the squeaks that of mice or men?
The echoes of past residents showing their residence?

In the end, it really does not matter
You see the silence was golden, the silence is golden
The silence will forever remain golden
A shared moment that will forever remain in your heart
Engraved upon your soul
Embedded into the foundations of the house
Entwining you and the house together
Turning this house into your home
It is eerie to think that in the future
When the house shares this intimacy with others
An essence, me and mine may be shared with future folk
When it breathes its next breath.

Dawn Barber: Sleep, before bed.

I can hear the sound of the clock ticking
I can hear it when it gets lower and a bit higher
The sound of a motorbike
Then the sound of my creaking stairs
That nearly talk to me
The sounds before I go to sleep.

This is not the Endo: The Silence Before I Sleep

The silence before I sleep
Is filled with things that creep
Round and round my head they go
Not knowing if they are friend or foe
Showing me all the things that I could be
And all the people I don’t want to see
The world outside doesn’t make a peep
But there is not silence before I sleep.

Glory Sengo: Silence in my Home

Everyone is silent at home,
Watching TV silently
With their phones silently
Their light off silently
Silently going up to bed
Gently to bed.

And my next door neighbours
Emma, Emily and Ellie
They were very silently sleeping
Silently with their phones silent
And they are trying to go toilet, silently
Without making noise
Then they go silently to sleep
(Snores)
Again snoring
(Snores more.)

Dan Horrigan: Silence

Silence is music with the volume off
Silence is contentment
Nothing need be said
Nothing need be done
Soon enough for the noise
Now there need be none.

Faisal Butt: Silence Before I Sleep

Silent night is about you and yourself
Also about listening to your favourite music
Silent night is about the sky above
Silent night is you forget all issues in the night
That’s all.

Dwain Bryan: Silence in my Home.

My home is usually quiet
Only the TV makes a sound
You can hear the traffic outside
The cars and the traffic rushing by

I close my window when I shut my mind off
And I am in my own world
Just me and my thoughts

I go into a deep meditation
Everything around shut up
And when I look I only see the dresser in my house
And the visual TV in front of me

At times I don’t want to be disturbed
But I hear the door knock
And my meditation drops

I answer the door
It’s my friend from upstairs
What does he want?
Why is he here?
Said there was a slight sound.
And he was wondering if I was ok
I said, I’m alright, and I’ll see you another day.

Eve Smith: Silence before I sleep

After it gets dark
Before you go to sleep,
You want to peek out of your window and see what’s around
And you also hope you don’t accidentally go to sleep upside down
And before you go to sleep you might look around your room
And you might even think about making it tidy the next day
But be careful try not to sing and be very quiet and don’t make a tune
As some people might think it is very rude
But don’t worry tomorrow there might be a clue of how to tidy your room
But for now rest silently
And maybe think of a dream or two.

Julie Newman: Silence In My Home

Silence so thick it can be cut
Greets the sudden lack of movement.
The cats and I sit still,
Waiting to hear any noise
Breaking through.

As we pause, our gaze meets.
Briefly we find agreement. Time to stop.
No need to rush in a bustle
And fluster. We can rest
And let the world drift.

Then suddenly comes a change.
Loud drumming sounds on the roof.
Windows become battered
By a torrent of angry drops
Roughly pulled from the clouds.

The sounds settle. No more a shock.
The peace so rudely broken returns
As the rain finds a gentler rhythm.
The cats start to purr and we settle
Back in the quiet repose.

Kate Rolison: Indoor Silence Poem

The table rattles when I shift in my seat
Rain spatters the window
The children next door shriek and thud
Cars slosh through the wet street
A distant siren is muffled
My breathing is steady.

Pippa Marshall: Silence in my lounge

The wind rustles the trees
with a river of cars behind them.
I can pick out individual cars like ripples in water
and wonder where they are going today.
The bins are cleared away
and there is a kind of peace.