Less vroom, more quiet
By Barry Vitcov
Last February’s Poetry Corner featured the poem “Bikers” by Chris Smits. He described a ride on the open road full of blasting music, black leather, and the roaring vroom of motorcycles racing along the highway. “Bikers” inspired Poet Dave Hysom to write “The Sounds of Silence,” a gentler approach to the open road, a different take on the environment, and a more polite gesture to pedestrians.
Poetry for the People
July 24, 2025, 6-8PM
Talent Library
101 Home Street
Talent, Oregon
Poetry for the People is a project created by local poets Lisa Baldwin and Seth Kaplan. It was conceived as a series of open mic poetry readings to bring together community in defense of our democracy and to encourage civil discussion. Poets respond to what’s happening around us through writing and reading poetry. Words provide solace, especially when shared with others looking to make sense of the senseless. Poetry for the People began on March 22 in Medford with subsequent events in Ashland, Kerby, and Grants Pass. You are invited to participate in the next Poetry for the People gathering in Talent. You are also welcome to come, listen and soak up some poetry juice.
Please RSVP by email to [email protected] and [email protected] by July 22 with your positive reply of “Count me in!” Also, let us know if you are a reader or just coming to hear the poetry. Finally, let us know if you are bringing a friend, so we know about how many folks to expect.
If you choose to be a reader and would like your poems printed in the event program, submit copies of your poems with your RSVP no later than 5:00 pm, July 17.
The Sounds of Silence
By David Hysom
My motorbike’s quiet
it doesn’t use gas
a twist of the throttle
and away I go fast
I don’t have a clutch
I don’t need no oil
I don’t have a sparkplug
I don’t have a coil
I run on electrons
I get them for free
the sun is my friend
it’s clean energy
You won’t hear me coming
you might see me go
I’m fast as the wind
but ofttimes ride slow
It’s Zero to sixty
in three seconds flat
but I stop for pedestrians
at the drop of a hat
Dave Hysom, an avid bicyclist and motorcyclist, grew up in Albuquerque, where he attended university but did not graduate. For reasons that remain mysterious, he subsequently spent 12 years enlisted in the US Navy. Returning to school, he graduated with higher degrees and secured employment as a computer research scientist at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. Two decades later, nearing retirement, he bought a house in Ashland shortly before the Almeda fire, and moved in afterwards. He recently took up crochet and now spends his time crafting mandalas, feeding squirrels and jays, following local politics, and gardening. He is still trying to decide what he wants to do when he grows up.
Poetry Submissions Welcomed!
Poetry Submissions Welcomed!
You are invited to submit original work to the Poetry Corner. There is only one restriction: Poems ought to show a connection to Ashland and/or Southern Oregon. Your interpretation of that connection is fairly loose and mine is probably even looser! Be sure to include the title of your poem, your name as you would like it to appear, the city or town in which you reside, and, if you wish, your preferred pronouns. Finally, please submit a bio statement of less than 150 words written in the third-person.
To submit poems, send to Barry Vitcov at [email protected].
