This is lovely, plain lovely.
The Quiet World
In an effort to get people to look
into each other’s eyes more,
the government has decided to allot
each person exactly one hundred
and sixty-seven words, per day.
When the phone rings, I put it
to my ear without saying hello.
In the restaurant I point
at chicken noodle soup. I am
adjusting well to the new way.
Late at night, I call my long
distance lover and proudly say
I only used fifty-nine today.
I saved the rest for you.
When she doesn’t respond, I know
she’s used up all her words
so I slowly whisper I love you,
thirty-two and a third times.
After that, we just sit on the line
and listen to each other breathe.
— Jeffrey McDaniel
Right, it’d be nice to do away with meaningless chatter, endless babble and useless talk. I’ve often wondered how the world would be if words were on ration. Voila! Here comes a poem which talks about JUST that… An interesting experiment if there ever was one. As for this poem, more than anything deeper and intense, it’s wonderfully romantic!
hariputtar says:
chatterDecember 13, 2004 — 9:13 pm
surendra says:
Speech (or talk) is a way to express out feelings in one. If it were to be bottled to say “X” seconds a day then that would not do good as perceived by others. In an ideal world (as in the world of books and philosophy to an extent) it would be as in the poem, but for all practicality in the world the reasoning becomes invalid (considering the things that could happen beyond one’s imagination). Rather than having a peaceful world as there is no nonsense being publicized, but then all these bottled up emotions could cause a lot of unrest within self. This unrest within one (in this case everyone) would result in a more dangerous world as people would look at other sources to vent their emotions and frustrations. This is my more than two cents take on this topic.
December 13, 2004 — 9:55 pm
Lakshmi says:
You’d be amazed to know how powerful silence is as a medium.
December 14, 2004 — 7:24 am
surendra says:
I do agree with you that silence as a medium is amazing. But it is not that all people could live in silence and still vent out their emotions through other ways. I myself am a person of few words, hence all the writing I do ;-). But there are some that need to talk it out and that is the only way they can loosen up (and this some accounts to a lot of the world population). Silence as is in a small section of people is fine, but if you take into account the big picture that is when we need to be worried about the consequences that we would be staring at.
December 14, 2004 — 7:32 am
Lakshmi says:
The above is a utopian concept, I agree..
December 14, 2004 — 7:43 am
surendra says:
Thanks for pointing out the right concept. I was to spend some time later in the day searching for the right word 🙂
December 14, 2004 — 7:44 am
fugney says:
You don’t suppose IM would become more popular?
December 14, 2004 — 1:14 am
Lakshmi says:
Guess so…:-)
December 14, 2004 — 7:25 am
rileen says:
Do you really think it’s such a great idea? Why not try one or more of the following :
(1)Get through a day without speaking more than 167 words.
(2)Don’t exceed 167 words in any of your next … (10?) posts. (easy, i guess)
(3)Don’t type more than 167 words on LJ on a given day, including all posts and comments.
Golden as silence may be, do not overestimate it just because you have a surfeit of silver around you 🙂
December 14, 2004 — 8:35 am
Lakshmi says:
(1)Get through a day without speaking more than 167 words.
Done that on more than a single occasion. Have spent days in total silence.
(3)Don’t type more than 167 words on LJ on a given day, including all posts and comments.
That too.
December 14, 2004 — 9:03 am
rileen says:
I’ve spent several days that way too, but usually on my own. What i meant of course was a day where you come across many people and yet speak less than 167 words.
Similarly, one can simply stay away from LJ – i meant a day in which you posts once or more and also exchange comments …….
December 14, 2004 — 9:08 am
Lakshmi says:
What I mean to say is… When you spend a couple of days in silence, you realise the value of words and don’t squander them thoughtlessly simply because they are for free.
December 14, 2004 — 9:25 am
surendra says:
Yes, I do agree with you in the fact that a couple of day spent in silence lets us realize the importance of words to us. We speak aimlessly and jabber our way out in this cosmopolitan/corporate world. But that’s when no one around you expects to answer or say anything to them. My 167 words are gone in a sec the moment I step into my office, just from greeting people by a hello or good morning and if you do not respond to theirs, then you risk them to assume you are arrogant. Yes, spending time with just self with may be a companion I could get by with 167 words but not in my day to day work life. Everyone around expects an answer to a question, a solution to an urgent issue on hand, reply to their very urgent emails, presenting to clients and audiences as well. It’s tough but possible, just that I never tried in my Monday to Friday schedule. Can try over the weekends but at times that could also turn out to be difficult.
December 14, 2004 — 1:29 pm
99kanitas says:
When the phone rings, I put it
to my ear without saying hello.
::sigh::
lol where does the chicken noodle soup figure in?
December 14, 2004 — 10:01 am
Lakshmi says:
A slightly trivial example, I guess…:-)
December 14, 2004 — 4:54 pm
Anonymous says:
Adorable!
Reminds me of the time when I had just fallen in love. Some nights, when we were dead tired, my name whispered along with the simplest three little words from the other end meant the world to me. Silence, when comfortable, does speak a lot. You just have to listen.
December 14, 2004 — 2:48 pm
srusrid says:
this is so….:-)
December 16, 2004 — 12:01 pm