Listen to: Anna Yin’s poem: Life Jars on CBC Radio (Metro Morning)
When I was a child,
I was told that silence is like light
having colors and faces.
Walking through the country in the dark,
I used to fill a glass jar with fireflies.
It became my blue starry compass.
When I inhaled the silence,
I could hear quiet voices from living creatures,
each making music of its own life.
Now grown up,
every day’s busy journey in the city,
I thought our life jars must be full of mundane trifles and noises;
Yet wandering into ravines in this urban landscape,
I can find the silence, silence and silence-
Where it opens a door like sunrays breaking through.
Riding along the lakeshore,
I see the sunset’s quiet reflection on the lake,
the CN Tower topping its splendor.
Like many commuters, I inhale the silence.
It was aired on July 15, 2013 : http://www.cbc.ca/player/Radio/Local+Shows/Ontario/Metro+Morning/ID/2396946379/?page=2) (Listen to it: Life Jars)