Linda Ankrah-Dove’s poem “Hum of Silence” calls to mind the power of silence, of solitude, and the wisdom of having less instead of more. The Shenandoah Valley-based poet explains, “I seemed to channel the spaciousness of the newly silenced world into my body and, despite the chaos and pain of the pandemic, I felt the sacredness of the hum calling me to enter a haven of quiet gratitude.”

To learn more about the COVID Poetry & Art Project, click here!

Hum of Silence

by Linda Ankrah-Dove

It’s so sweet.

So why do I forget to enter my own shelter

silent from the global hubbub, the pandemic panic,

the pulsating thoughts of disease, deaths, disasters?

Today I do not forget.

I walk at sunrise and step out slowly, then sit quiet,

retreat into breaths that bathe my brain, lead my senses

to high cliffs above calm waters.

Call it meditating.

But that sounds daunting, too technical.

It is a quieting, a flowing into oceanic peace that hums unheard

beneath all human doings.

So, rather, call it praying.

Not a calling outward. A calling inward,

a listening, a reconnecting with the constant, underlying

hum of silence.

And, again, why so often do I forget?

Why do I act some days as if my own frenzied noise

could heal the world? Why do I forgo

my silent sheltering?

I really don’t know.               But I do know

the inward silence I choose now is the sweetest song.

And I call outward today for our grieving world

that we may all listen and find our own songs

in our silent shelters.

©️Linda Ankrah-Dove

This poem was first published on MikeMaggio.Net as part of the original iteration of the COVID Poetry & Art Project. Read the original post here.

Chatting with Linda

Can you tell us a little about this poem or piece of art and how you came to create it? How has the current crisis (or crises) influenced your art? 

“Hum of Silence” came to me early in the pandemic as one of those precious poems that form themselves in an instant. I seemed to channel the spaciousness of the newly silenced world into my body and, despite the chaos and pain of the pandemic, I felt the sacredness of the hum calling me to enter a haven of quiet gratitude. I am still full of gratitude for the hum of silence and new learnings of this past year or so.

What role do you think the arts play in times of turmoil and uncertainty?

The Arts have a critical role, even a responsibility, in times of turmoil and uncertainty. The arts of all kinds appeal directly to hearts and senses when our minds cannot comprehend the causes, consequences, and implications of personal and social suffering. The Arts have a way of clarifying what is important, motivating and energizing, and comforting.

What are you viewing/reading/watching/listening to these days?

I am reading and watching, listening to interfaith spirituality and biographies of “great” leaders in history which offers a relative perspective on our times and how we coped in the past. I also facilitate a poetry group and join PSV zoom occasions.

Do you have a favorite local writer or artist (DC area)?

Mike Maggio is a good and supportive writer for me out here in the Shenandoah Valley.

About the Poet

Before poetry, Linda Ankrah-Dove was a UK academic and later worked in the World Bank in poor countries in Africa, Asia, the Middle East and the Caribbean. Eleven years ago, she founded First Monday Poets in her new home in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia where poets enjoy and critique each other’s work. Members participate in Valley artistic events to encourage poetic appreciation among local residents. Notable was a month-long exhibition, Poetic Vision, hosted by the Arts Council of the Valley. Linda Ankrah-Dove graduates with an MFA in poetry in July 2021. Her poems focus on communion with nature, life’s meaning and worldwide social and climate issues. Her poetry from 2007 to 2018 features in her full-length self-published book Borrowed Glint of Jade. Her poems also feature in the Virginia Literary Review, EchoWorld, several Bridgewater International Festival anthologies, Spiritual Direction International, MonthstoYears, the Hunger-X website, the Mike Maggio website, and Written in Arlington.