To The Deaf (Litany)
Hens chuckle
Geese cackle
Bulls bellow
Oxen low
Sheep bleat
Mice squeak
But your world is soundless
You remain in muteness
As deaf as without eardrums
As noiseless as the doldrums
But still hear with your sight
Every sound is a light
Turkeys gobble
Wrens all warble
Asses bray
Horses neigh
Wolves howl
Bears growl
But your world is soundless
You remain in muteness
As deaf as without eardrums
As noiseless as the doldrums
But still hear with your sight
Every sound is a light
Fire crackle
Feet all shuffle
Parrots chatter
Swallows twitter
Ducks quack
Dogs bark
But your world is soundless
You remain in muteness
As deaf as without eardrums
As noiseless as the doldrums
But still hear with your sight
Every sound is a light
Glasses tinkle
Rivers gurgle
Tress whisper
Apes gibber
Cows moo
Doves coo
But your world is soundless
You remain in muteness
As deaf as without eardrums
As noiseless as the doldrums
But still hear with your sight
Every sound is a light
Bells jingle
Brooks babble
Hinges creak
People speak
Hissing of steam
All eagles scream
But your world is soundless
You remain in muteness
As deaf as without eardrums
As noiseless as the doldrums
But still hear with your sight
Every sound is a light
Vehicles rumble
Dry leaves crackle
Male bitterns boom
Aeroplanes zoom
Seas swash
Waters splash
But your world is soundless
You remain in muteness
As deaf as without eardrums
As noiseless as the doldrums
But still hear with your sight
Every sound is a light
Coins tinkle
Silk rustle
Horns toot
Owls hoot
Horses’ hooves clatter
Monkeys all chatter
But your world is soundless
You remain in muteness
As deaf as without eardrums
As noiseless as the doldrums
But still hear with your sight
Every sound is a light
Can you hear?
The crashing of billows
The chirping of sparrows
The whizzing of arrows
The sniffing of a nose
The throbbing of a heart
The mewing of a cat
The tapping of pipe water
The clangour of a hammer
Crinkling of paper
The rolling of thunder
Howling of winds
Whirring of wings
The pattering of rain
The clanking of a chain
You still hear with your sight
Every sound is a light