sit still; be quiet

Posted by thehatlist on April 22, 2010 · 1 Comment 

arms crossed sitting
clock is timeless
surrounded by the restless mindless

all straight-cut thinking
but we’re beauty seeking
and yet they punish us with silence

we, scarred free
give soulwild call
and stumble to prevent the fall

and to those who wish compose
our sinful meandering and align us,
do avoid silence,
I’d recommend obtund our minds, lest
our souls be unbroken
and our spirits remain bindless

.

I wrote this one sitting in detention, which is nearly one hour of serene silence. But what are the moral and social implications of disciplining kids with silence? Silence is such a beautiful thing, and we usually waste the rare moments we can have it by filling our ears with iPods and so forth. If we’re chastised with silence, then we will view sitting quietly to be a punishment, and avoid it whenever possible. This seems like a counterintuitive punishment if the institution giving it is designed to facilitate our growth and development and desire for knowledge. Seems to me it would be more effective to have detention in a room full of speakers and to blast music at a mind-numbing volume. Just some thoughts.

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Filed under Musings, Poetry