“Silenced Symphonies” is a poem written and performed by Kendra Leigh D. Osias. It won 2nd Place at the 2020 Sri Aman Environmental & English Youth Leadership Summit (SAEYLS) Poetry Competition. The piece carries a powerful message, one that is especially relevant with the theme of Earth Day 2021, Restore Our Earth.

Poem transcript:

SILENCED SYMPHONIES
Kendra Leigh D. Osias

The wind howls
on a cold, bleak night
as another falls to nature’s plight,
I can’t help but vividly recall the brighter times
when she was kinder, simpler,
not filled with senseless anger.

She crafted her pitch-perfect melody
for all life on earth –
from the wide melodic range of the strongest tree
unrelenting in the breeze,
to the narrow  range of the smallest flower
swaying as it please.

She sang her song gently
like that of a desperate, hopelessly romantic lover's,
strumming her guitar softly
beneath the soft, morning sun,
offering her affection, hoping to capture
the heart of another.

She hummed a hypnotic lullaby
like that of a mother's,
soothing and rocking to deep slumber her precious children
beneath the warm glow of the moon,
giving them maternal protection
in a serene, peaceful tune.

Now, all we can hear are her roars,
Thundering and deafening our ears.
We only listen to the verses
that leave us shuddering in fear.
We took for granted those soft, calming ones
that are slowly beginning to disappear.

We have neglected her songs for so long,
we took advantage of her melodies
when all she wished was to bring us peace.
Do we even notice
that her songs are vanishing,
fading into nothingness?