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The Music

Page 6

by Matthew Herbert


  An in-breath

  The silence before you realise you’re going too fast

  An out-breath

  The silence of a lobster with elastic bands on its claws

  An in-breath

  The mid-afternoon silence in a home for the elderly

  An out-breath

  The silence of the doctor as she checks something in your notes

  An in-breath

  The silence of an absent parent

  An out-breath

  The silence of a child’s playground at night

  An in-breath

  The silence when you realise your body has changed shape

  An out-breath

  The silence of a pile of dirty clothes

  An in-breath

  The silence before relief and rescue arrives

  An out-breath

  The silence in between pressing ‘play’ and the start of your favourite piece of music

  An in-breath

  The silence between the bleeps on a smoke alarm that indicate the battery is running out

  An out-breath

  The silence as you wait for night to end

  An in-breath

  A moment of silence inside a losing football crowd towards the end of a match when nobody is singing

  An out-breath

  The silence as an actor forgets their lines

  An in-breath

  The silence after all the heating turns off at night

  An out-breath

  Then the silence of a corrupt official as he looks at your documents

  An in-breath

  The silence on shutdown just after a computer fan has stopped whirring but before the screen goes black

  An out-breath

  The silence in the back of a sealed shipping container at a border

  An in-breath

  The silence of the person checking you in to a motel at 4.45a.m. as they deliberately stare at their monitor screen instead of you

  An out-breath

  The silence during non-consensual sex

  An in-breath

  The silence between the coughs during the gap between the movements of a performance of a Mahler symphony

  An out-breath

  The silence inside a headmaster’s office while you wait outside

  An in-breath

  The silence of a ketchup bottle at a roadside food van

  An out-breath

  The silence between a teenager asking someone out on a date for the first time and that person saying no

  An in-breath

  The silence when your phone has run out of battery in a critical situation

  An out-breath

  The silence inside a lift full of strangers

  An in-breath

  The silence of a small antique black metal box whose lid won’t open

  An out-breath

  The silence when a man in uniform enters your train compartment

  An in-breath

  The silence of an elderly woman in front of a van Gogh painting at the Musée d’Orsay

  An out-breath

  The silence of two people as they look up at the enormity of the night sky

  An in-breath

  The silence following a knock on the door by housekeeping in a hotel

  An out-breath

  The silence on the other end of the line while the person tries to process your paperwork

  An in-breath

  The silence of a dog at your feet, looking up

  An out-breath

  The silence of a washing machine as it waits to decide when to let you open the door

  An in-breath

  The silence of a child about to be sick in the back of a car

  An out-breath

  The silence inside your house as a policeman walks down your driveway

  An in-breath

  The silence

  of someone standing still and looking in a fridge trying to work out if there’s something to eat

  An out-breath

  The silence of watching an act of horror unfold in real time

  An in-breath

  The silence of a cave painting in the Ardèche

  An out-breath

  The silence of a shadow by a street lamp

  An in-breath

  The silence on a bus when you suddenly realise everyone else has got off, the engine has been switched off and the bus isn’t going

  any further

  An out-breath

  The silence inside every empty fake present box under the Hamley’s Christmas tree

  An in-breath

  The silence of a flat tyre

  An out-breath

  The silence between bombs falling

  An in-breath

  The silence of someone standing reading a letter by the front door but still wearing their outdoor coat

  An out-breath

  The silence when you realise you’re about to see a new naked body for the first time

  An in-breath

  The silence of a window too small to climb through

  An out-breath

  The silence of staring at a new coat in a mirror as you try to get a better understanding of how you look

  An in-breath

  The silence of a small Mediterranean hilltop town in the heat of a Sunday afternoon

  An out-breath

  The silence of a trans kid in the bathroom

  An in-breath

  The silence of a skeleton in a science laboratory

  An out-breath

  The silence after you turn the key in the door of a new house

  An in-breath

  The silence on a night bus full of cleaners going to work

  An out-breath

  The silence of a partner on the phone to a parent

  An in-breath

  The silence while you wait for an urgent, important file to upload but it’s going too slowly, has even stopped

  An out-breath

  The silence in a shop as you wait to be told of the price of an unmarked item of jewellery you suspect is particularly expensive

  An in-breath

  The silence of watching someone else trying to make a decision

  An out-breath

  The silence of a person who never came home

  An in-breath

  The silence of a dried-up lake

  An out-breath

  The silence in a hot-air balloon after the gas has been fired

  An in-breath

  The silence between raindrops dripping off a gutter

  An out-breath

  The silence while someone decides whether to buy stolen goods or not

  An in-breath

  The silence of someone reading these words

  An out-breath

  The silence inside a sandwich inside a fridge inside a shop inside a station

  An in-breath

  The silence as you try and comprehend the numbers of people drowned

  An out-breath

  The silence of a candidate waiting to learn about an election result

  An in-breath

  The silence in the empty toilets during a presentation at an arms fair

  An out-breath

  The silence of a passport queue

  An in-breath

  The silence of offices in a glass skyscraper, seen from the outside

  An out-breath

  The silence of a shop with nothing on the shelves

  An in-breath

  The silence of an apple core next to a child’s car seat

  An out-breath

  The silence in the empty cl
oakroom of a museum where all the bags are kept during the day

  An in-breath

  The silence of a man’s hand resting on a woman’s leg

  An out-breath

  The silence of pedestrians when a hearse goes past

  An in-breath

  The silence of a favourite pair of shoes by the front door

  An out-breath

  The silence of a child’s bedroom at night when the child isn’t there

  An in-breath

  The silence of an audience at a Radiohead gig in Japan between songs

  An out-breath

  The silence of someone else’s possessions handed to you in a see-through plastic bag

  An in-breath

  The silence of a broken water fountain in an abandoned town square in the heat

  An out-breath

  The silence of the Queen’s vintage wine collection

  An in-breath

  The silence of Rekia Boyd

  An out-breath

  The silence of an unread book about gardening

  An in-breath

  The silence of a prayer

  An out-breath

  The silence of an impenetrable wall

  An in-breath

  The silence of a group of people as they sit and listen to someone speaking, reading aloud

  An out-breath

  The silence of exhausted workers at the end of a long shift

  An in-breath

  The silence of empty second homes at Christmas time

  An out-breath

  The silence of a stone picked up near a mountain and taken home

  An in-breath

  The silence of a beetle set in resin

  An out-breath

  The silence of a Kyoto temple while the hot tea in front of you cools down

  An in-breath

  The silence in a nail bar as someone paints the nails of the final customer of the day

  An out-breath

  The silence when you realise you are in danger

  An in-breath

  The silence of an empty, closed motorway two miles after a serious accident

  An out-breath

  The silence as orchestral percussionists count their rests

  An in-breath

  The silence of a soldier overseas

  An out-breath

  The silence inside a border and customs waiting room

  An in-breath

  The silence of a nearly built bridge

  An out-breath

  The silence of a potter surveying a newly finished earthenware bowl after the wheel has stopped

  An in-breath

  The silence of one glove on a park bench

  An out-breath

  The silence between someone asking someone to marry them and the answer

  An in-breath

  The silence while someone younger than you checks your ID

  An out-breath

  The silence of a first night in prison

  An in-breath

  The silence when you don’t know what to say or write or do or how to get out of bed

  An out-breath

  The silence at the end of a cup of tea

  An in-breath

  The silence inside a just-finished coffin

  An out-breath

  The silence of a nest of eggs with no birds present

  An in-breath

  The silence of ice between creaks and splinters

  An out-breath

  The silence in the back of a taxi when you think you’re deliberately being taken the wrong way

  An in-breath

  The silence in the middle of a calm sea in the summertime

  An out-breath

  The silence as a shop’s card reader dials your bank to see if there is enough money in your account when you know there possibly isn’t

  An in-breath

  The silence of a flower arrangement tied to a lamp post

  An out-breath

  The silence as heard from a hiding place, working out if the other person has passed the door and carried on walking, or stopped

  An in-breath

  The silence inside an air pocket at the bottom of a collapsed building

  An out-breath

  The silence when you realise someone doesn’t believe you

  An in-breath

  The silence of an armed guard as he decides whether to let you in or not

  An out-breath

  The silence as a table of diners waits for the last person to give their order to a busy waitress

  An in-breath

  The silence of a human-rights lawyer in the boot of a car

  An out-breath

  The silence by a new grave with no headstone yet

  An in-breath

  The silence of a large pile of unopened mail in the dark

  An out-breath

  The silence as you wait to see if the person upstairs is asleep yet

  An in-breath

  A minute of silent remembrance

  An out-breath

  The silence of meeting someone again as they try to remember your name

  An in-breath

  The silence of a government when another nation is in need

  An out-breath

  The silence of someone near you looking at something on their phone

  An in-breath

  The silence of a pig’s heart in a jar of formaldehyde on a shelf

  An out-breath

  The silence of a barber shop when an army general walks in and sits down

  An in-breath

  The silence of a landscape from space

  An out-breath

  The silence of a record collection

  An in-breath

  The silence as you wait to see if a complicated Wi-Fi password has been accepted by the network

  An out-breath

  The silence after a distraught phone call from a family member is suddenly cut off

  An in-breath

  The silence of four nervous young men in a first-class railway carriage

  An out-breath

  The silence of a row of new tractors by a factory

  An in-breath

  The silence of children’s shoes that are now too small

  An out-breath

  The silence of someone hiding underneath a just-dead person

  An in-breath

  The silence of an empty wallet

  An out-breath

  The silence of no food

  An in-breath

  The silence of a felled ash tree

  An out-breath

  The silence in between blows

  An in-breath

  The silence of an unopened jar of honey at the bottom of a bag

  An out-breath

  The silence of all the cars lined up in a car-rental place waiting to be picked

  An in-breath

  The silence of a wooden yellow pencil with a snapped tip

  An out-breath

  The silence between a lightning strike and the wait for thunder

  An in-breath

  The silence of an empty dance floor

  An out-breath

  The silence as someone looks really closely at you

  An in-breath

  The silence between gags as someone vomits nearby

  An out-breath

  The silence of an unseen politician in the back of a passing car

  An in-breath

  The silence of used confetti on the floor

  An out-breath

  The silence of a child on an iPad

  An in-brea
th

  The silence of a broken heater

  An out-breath

  The silence while looking for a light ahead somewhere. Through the dark

  An in-breath

  The silence of a locked gate

  An out-breath

  The silence of an unreported injustice

  An in-breath

  The silence of a school at night in winter

  An out-breath

  The silence of an expensive dress in a window, seen from the outside

  An in-breath

  The silence of a taxidermy owl

  An out-breath

  The silence when you realise you’re dying

  An in-breath

  The silence of Paul Dacre’s bookshelf

  An out-breath

  The silence of an envelope of test results

  An in-breath

  The silence between strings on a squash racket

  An out-breath

  The silence of an expensive but unplayed piano in a living room on the twenty-eighth floor

  An in-breath

  The silence while people listen to an announcement telling them why the train is delayed

  An out-breath

  The silence of the Crown Jewels

  An in-breath

  The silence of a pack of supermarket mushrooms

  An out-breath

  The silence of Fred Astaire’s shoe lasts

  An in-breath

  The short sudden silence on a very rainy motorway as you briefly drive under a bridge and for tiny moment there is no rain on the roof

  An out-breath

  The silence of a missing limb

  An in-breath

  The silence of a dead plant

  An out-breath

  An empty bombed-out building

  An in-breath

  The silence when you realise you’re lost in the snow

  An out-breath

  The silence where a mosque used to be

  An in-breath

  The silence after an email you sent remains unreplied to several weeks later

  An out-breath

  The silence in a woodland having just thought you heard a woodpecker and waiting for it to start making the drilling noise again

  An in-breath

  The silence after you’ve just told a lie

  An out-breath

  The silence of a dead body in the cellar below

  An in-breath

  The silence during bad turbulence on a plane over the North Sea

  An out-breath

  The silence straight after a loud noise downstairs in a house at night, but you’re on your own

  An in-breath

  The silence of a young girl applying mascara

  An out-breath

  The silence after an unpleasant heckle on someone’s first stand-up comedy gig

  An in-breath

 

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