a refrain

What is a refrain, you say? I’m glad you asked. A dictionary definition would tell you only that a refrain is “a phrase or verse recurring at intervals in a song or poem, especially at the end of each stanza”, or in other words, synonymous with ‘chorus’. But since you asked me, I want to share something a bit more, um, well…a bit more. I would tell you that a refrain can mean something much deeper.

for Mom

a wint'ry poem

I hear nothing but my brain creating
White noise to fill the void of sound surrounding me
Perhaps instinct is telling me that everything
Including the ice crystals bombarding me
Creates tiny explosions upon impacting
That vibrate the molecules nearby which carry
Through the air to tiny bones that give me hearing
But now, these vibrations are muffled before they reach me
As the multitude of inundating flakes are being
Absorbed by the snow that blankets the ground around me
So I hear nothing but myself explaining
The reason for the lack of sensation in me