Night Sounds: A Lyric Essay by Tim Thurman

For the next couple of weeks, some of the students in my online Creative Nonfiction Writing class have agreed to write guest posts for my blog. I’m honored to have them.

Below, you’ll find Timothy Thurman’s lyric essay “Night Sounds.” I hope you enjoy the vivid imagery and challenging turn as much as I did.

Night Sounds

The monotone Whir of the fan is whispering,
coaxing me toward sleep. All is fading…
The train’s whistle angrily jolts me.
I feel the rage building,
the deep wounds of broken vows.
My mind is now hurtling toward…
The horn is now forlorn as the train wanders away.
The anger subsides to a deep longing of unfulfilled dreams.
As the train fades, the Whir reasserts its whisper,
begging me toward oblivion.
Before peace is found, the clock grandly announces
Time’s relentless march.
Finally, the whispering Whir wins…

***

In the dead of the night, I am snatched back to life
by the inopportune merriness of a mockingbird.
Her song is repulsive in its joy.
The Madam is scoffing at me:
“You are a loser”;
“you will amount to nothing”;
“I hate you!”.
I feel the hurt, the anger, the brokenness returning
as the Madam continues her sing-song tease.
And then it arrives,
salvation from a favorite song
gently nudges my consciousness;
“It is always darkest right before the dawn.”
I listen anew to the operatic Madam and realize
she is not mocking me,
but is a Siren of hope and joy
in the dead of the night.
My spirits soar with her song.
Now she is encouraging,
“All is not lost;
A new day is coming.”
The incessant Whir whispers again
calling me to peace.
I relax and drift…

***

A new day is here!
The persistent Whir fades
to chirps and the warmth of the sun on my face.
And I remember the clarion call
of my nighttime visitor, bidding me to believe:
“All is not lost;
A new day is here.”

Tim Thurman lives in San Dimas, California. Tim is an entrepreneur who builds businesses and fixes broken businesses. He blogs regularly on two sites. On his main blog, he examines faith in real life. His second blog is dedicated to exploring the wisdom found in the writings of C.S. Lewis. In addition to blogging, he writes non-fiction, fiction, and children’s stories, and hopes one day to be published.