Here’s my take on “silence.” This piece was inspired by the Weekly Writing Challenge. I’ve wanted to write this experience for a long while, but didn’t have the right form for it. This challenge, gladly, has given me the frame I needed for my silence.
It is a Tuesday and I’ve just finished my Process class. I sit outside the library on an old, wooden bench, waiting for my friend as restless, groggy university students stream by me. Some stop, looking up at the peeling yellow walls, some make a quick right to the Tim Hortons, while others artistically swim through idle students, running to classes they’re already late for or buses they’ve already missed. In this familiar chaos I see my TA and wave. She smiles back as she hurriedly walks on.
I turn away from my class and see my friend approaching. I get up, collect my books, and we walk towards the food court.
“Yo I am so hungry!” Books cascade to the floor as she drops her bags in front of a BMO. “I need to take out some money. Is that okay?” She shuffles forward without waiting for a reply.
“Why wouldn’t it be? You don’t need my permission to take out food. I mean money.” I follow her in the line, laughing quietly to myself, not wanting to sit on the bench again. “How was class?”
“Lord, lord. Hell if I know what that man was talking about. I hope class gets cancelled next week.” She slides her card into the ATM.
“I feel you man. This class is pointless. It was $2000. For what, I don’t know. The lectures could be taught by an undergrad. I don’t know what I’m going to do for the exam. This course has no structure, all she does is ramble on for an hour and let us go an hour early. I mean, I would like to leave an hour early if I actually felt like I was getting something out of this course. Honestly, if you were there—”
“Isn’t that your TA?” She asks, nonchalantly cutting me off with her hand at the money dispenser.
I jerk my head and look. I see a women with cropped blonde hair, brown rimmed glasses, green turtleneck and black slacks. She sees me staring and waves before she leaves the building with another woman. “Yup, that’s my TA.” I smile at myself and help my friend carry some books.
“That man-woman.” She forces out a laugh. It wasn’t a question.
I frown. “She isn’t a man-woman, she’s just gay.”
“Come on, who is she kidding. She’s a man. Where do you want to eat. Knowing you we’re going to walk around this building for two hours and end up eating nothing.” She opens the door for me and we walk towards the student centre.
I try to answer, but I’ve lost my hunger. Despite how much I try, my appetite won’t be revived, won’t be goaded, and won’t be stirred – like the words I let go, unformed and forgotten.
Here’s 99 other thoughts on silence. Check them out and let me, as well as these creative bloggers, know what you think.
- The Sound of Silence | Through the Peacock’s Eyes
- Listen to the silence | Master Of Disaster
- Weekly Writing Challenge: The Sound of Silence | JGTravels
- Eight Things I Wish I Knew Before I Taught at a Boarding School | Kosher Adobo
- The Sounds of Silence* | Icescreammama
- underwood | yi-ching lin photography
- Weekly Writing Challenge: The Sound of Silence | Under the Monkey Tree
- Moments | anonim0us
- Moments | anonim0us
- Silent Agony | Broken Light: A Photography Collective
- Silent crimes | Speaking Voiceless
- The Sound of Silence is a beautiful thing | Amanda Montomery
- Weekly Writing Challenge: The Sound of Silence | A mom’s blog
- Hug Her Back | Fish Of Gold
- Media Blackouts Insult My Intelligence | Bumblepuppies
- As Loud as Silence | Chimerical Chicanery
- Unspeakable | Musings of a Soul Eclectic
- Aborted Words | The Backwords
- Weekly Writing Challenge: The Sound of Silence | carojesu
- yesterday’s snow lets | y
- A SILENT SONG | Diary of a mind
- A Common Baby Myth: Babies Should Sleep in Silence.. Ssshhh! | Peek-a-boo: Baby and You!
- Silence « mediumblackdog
- Never Give Up, Never Give In: My Epiphany! | Hope and Faith
- Brady’s Silence (explicit) | Stories From My Mind
- Coyote Hill | The Seminary of Praying Mantis
- A Silence Louder Than Words | snapshotsofawanderingheart
- Weekly Writing Challenge: The Sound of Silence | Tales from the Motherland
- When The Silence Almost Deafens You | Unload and Unwind
- Classy Broad
- The Day I Found My Voice | A Path of Living Stones
- When you said “Nobody loves you” | So Not Simple
- Finding what you didn’t know you were looking for… | Crap I Blog About
- WWC: The Sound of Silence | Learning the Anishinaabe Way
- Who Said So? | Buzzy Beez
- Silence challenge | knovak616
- The Silence Welcomes Me | StormieSteele
- Weekly Writing Challenge: Have you seen me? | Life of A Fallen Angel
- Silence | Perspectives on life, universe and everything
- The Things We Don’t Say | A Sign Of Life
- Breaking The Sound Of Silence | At least we made it this far…
- In the silence of a word | MC’s Whispers
- From Silence Came Wisdom | Lifeinpawprints’s Weblog
- Blog challenge – The sound of silence « Defy The Narrative
- Could the end of ‘that time of the month’ be related to that time of the year? | Minnesota Transplant
- Weekly Writing Challenge: The Sound of Silence | Echoes of My Past
- Good Grief | Wittyburg.com
- silence and snow | from dreams to plans
- Weekly Writing Challenge: Sounds of Silence | Reflections and Nightmares- Irene A Waters (writer and memoirist)
- Jumpers for goalposts… | Dreaminspice
- Weekly Writing Challenge: The Sound of Silence | Pop-Culture-Referenced
- The Silent Sisters | 22 going on 33
- Weekly Writing Challenge: The Sound of Silence | Bringing Out the God-Colors in the World
- Suicide no. 27: Vow of Silence | derekalanwilkinson
- Silent White | Mary J Melange
- Weekly Writing Challenge: The Sound of Silence | Your Original LUPUSDIVA….
- Weekly Writing Challenge: The Sound of Silence | No Apologies
- Cable Cut-off | The Zombies Ate My Brains
- Silence so Loud | My Weigh To Lose
- Silencing the Critics’ Chorus | V Learns Something New
- Silence of the Blog « ph.d. in creative writing
- Life: The Search For Someone Who Understands You | Paint Before Death
- Silence | Dandilyonz-4-U
- Remaining Silent | Bits of Life
- Inexhaustible Treasure | Love in the Spaces
- HOW DOES SILENCE SOUND? | SERENDIPITY
- A moment in Paris | The Bohemian Rock Star’s “Untitled Project”
- Weekly Writing Challenge | Fit 4 Life, LLC
- No More Honesty | Among the Whispers
- The Silent Storm | Martialing Art
- I’m excellent at taking criticism (see? that sounds weird, right?) | sincerelyimitated
- My worst nightmare is coming alive, the silence is the glue to it all | From One Crazy Life To Another
- This is the absolute FPiTS! | Thorough and Unkempt
- Weekly Writing Challenge: The Sound of Silence | My name is Ellie and this is who I am.
- Ah-kya-kha-loo-i | I’m a Writer, Yes I Am
- Don’t Change That Channel-er ! | Once Upon Your Prime. . .
- Enjoy the Silence | Kokopelli Bee Free Blog
- “Oh” | Gnome Lover
- Breaking the Silence on Autism | Love, Support, Educate, Advocate, Accept…
- Weekly Writing Challenge: The Sound Of Silence | imagination
- Weekly Writing Challenge: The Sound of Silence | sailingthroughthefog
- Weekly Writing Challenge: The Sound of Silence | alysslombardi
- Minnie’s Quite Silent | Minnie | A Personal Blog
- Silence Breaker | thenaturalprofessor
- I’m Hoping My Mother Ignores This One. | meg lago
- Weekly Writing Challenge: The Sound of Silence – Silent-phobia | SA:ME (사메)
- Favorite quotes from Alabama literature | Andrea Reads America
- A resounding silence. | Multifarious meanderings
- Weekly Writing Challenge: The Sound of Silence? | seikaiha’s blah-blah-blah
- What I Didn’t Say | My Newingness
- litadoolan
- Shamed Silence Broken | Ever Upward
- THE SILENT TREATMENT | DANDELION’S DEN
- #1 | Justin B.
- society | yi-ching lin photography
- all of life is a | y
- The Long Unspoken | the intrinsickness
- Being Silent Nevermore: The Psychology of Raising My Voice For Those that Have Been Muted « psychologistmimi
- A Borrowed Identity to Fill the Silence. | W.T.F.
- Footfall | Tell Tale Therapy
Check this out, as well as all the posts in the Writing Challenge:
http://fishofgold.net/2014/02/17/hug-her-back/
Pingback: Weekly Writing Challenge: Sounds of Silence | Reflections and Nightmares- Irene A Waters (writer and memoirist)
Beautiful piece. I can see it and hear it and feel the silence as you recognize there’s no point saying anything. Thank you!
You’re welcome Martha.
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I like the feeling at the end of letting go. It’s a powerful moment of release and the association with the word ‘unformed’ makes it feel nebulous. Enjoyed this.
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Good title … good post. The silence is heavy as there are no more words to say.
And so how do I ping you? Or link you. Or list you… or whatever like you did for me?
It took me a while to figure out how to use pingbacks. If you copy and paste the list of contributors on the Weekly Writing Challenge to your own blog that will generate a pingback
Thank you so much for explaining this to me! 🙂 I shall try that! 🙂
Loved it! You inspired me to try to write something for this too! 🙂
I am glad to hear that. If or when you do I’ll link it to this post. Thanks for reading 🙂
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How loaded a casual conversation can be! I’ve been in many similar moments, and you’ve captured the essence perfectly.
Thanks,I wish I had said something in that instance.
I’ve been in similar situations where I don’t agree with what others are saying, but I’m afraid to come off as self-righteous. Powerful writing!
I feel you and I hate myself for not saying anything, especially since that TA has been such an amazing influence in my life.