Nerve Music

Sometimes I’m jittery
like this        jittering
nervousness appears
as a tremor from somewhere
distant     far away     inside
and I’m on edge

but maybe
on edge       is advantageous
where things happen
the best location
for seeing
each peak and frequency

and maybe this jitteriness
this shaky vibration
is a manifestation of sound
sprouting
a soundwave
born        in the body

rippling outward
through tubes and flesh
music from darkness
a bump       making a wave
then a current
a run      a surf      that breaks

and if it seems like
discomfort      awkwardness
doubt
really
it’s just the beginning
the ding of a tuning-fork

the hummmm
that happens
before this       weird
unpredictable
orchestral thing
that’s coming

 

Jessamine O’Connor lives in the rural west of Ireland. Her collection Silver Spoon in published by Salmon Poetry, she has a recent joint pamphlet out with Nine Pens Press, and is the Ireland editor with Drunk Muse Press.
http://www.jessamineoconnor.com
https://www.ninepens.co.uk/nine-series-1/the-opposite-of-grieving