Sound Advice

Chasing Wonder – Ch 11 – Sound Advice

(A ship sails through the night on a stormy sea)

Calling Yada Yada, Blah Blah Blah (in Morse code)

L-O
L-O
R-U-O-K
S-I-M-O-K
M-I-A-B-U-T?
S-U-R-A-B-U-T

O-M-I-M-I?
O-S-U-R-M-I?
S-U-R-X-L-N-T
O-S-I-M-X-L-N-T
U-N-I-O-U-N-I
S-S-U-U-N-I-I

F-U-R-X-L-N-T-I-M-X-L-N-T-S-U
G I-M-A-O-K-A-O-K-R-U
I-M-I-M-4-2-N-8

How about you?
What's your point of view?
Do you want to know?
Is that a yes or no?
Do you have a curiosity?
What would you like, to learn and see?

Yada Yada, Blah Blah Blah
Yada Yada, Blah Blah Blah
Do they even think, about what they see?
Or do they just repeat, whatever they hear?
Lots of gossip, not a thing sincere
Perhaps they just, just don't care
Yada Yada, Blah Blah Blah
Yada Yada, Blah Blah Blah

Wonder wonder, little oyster in the sea
He heard some silly sounds, and wondered what they might be
If the fish swam near, perhaps he'd hear them more clear
Do you know what the two fish uttered?
Was it words and squeaks they stuttered?
Yada Yada, Blah Blah Blah
Yada Yada, Blah Blah Blah
Yada Yada, Blah Blah Blah

Chasing Wonder – Ch 11 – Sound Advice

If you've been to Las Vegas
Where neon lights flash contagious
Or Times Square late at night
To watch marquees blink bright
You know why Wonder was bemused
When bright and smart became confused

Though some things flash with brilliant color
Inside they may be dull and duller
Now, parrot fish shine as they go
Each one its own rainbow
But looked at in a different light
That brightness quickly fades from sight

Gliding along the coral reef
Gnawing it with beak-like teeth
Parrot fish bite and then spit out
Bits of sand that float about
Then drift away to distant reaches
To help form all the ocean beaches

And the parrot fish made noises too
A sort of talking as caged parrots do
Though birds have feathers and fish have fins
And one flies about and the other swims
Might they share some common ground
To hear, repeat, not thoughts but sound?

L-O
L-O
R-U-O-K
S-I-M-O-K
M-I-A-B-U-T?
S-U-R-A-B-U-T

O-M-I-M-I?
O-S-U-R-M-I?
S-U-R-X-L-N-T
O-S-I-M-X-L-N-T
U-N-I-O-U-N-I
S-S-U-U-N-I-I

Wonder was totally fascinated
To hear fish staccato, hyphenated
"Are these really words?" he mused
"Or just noise, and I'm confused?"
(Do you know what the two fish uttered?
Was it words or squeaks they stuttered?)

Wonder thought, if the fish swam near
Perhaps he'd hear them much more clear
And soon the pair of parrot fish returned
Saying silly sounds he'd never learned
Spouting syllables small as sand
Hardly oratory, just totally bland

F-U-R-X-L-N-T-I-M-X-L-N-T-S-U
G I-M-A-O-K-A-O-K-R-U
I-M-I-M-4-2-N-8
R-U-F-R-I-M-4-2-N-8-2
S-I-M-2-B-N-V-D
N-V-R-U-2-B-N-V-D

"Hey, there. Hi! I'm Wonder, so...
Who are you? I'd like to know"
But the parrot fish swam on by
Didn't look, didn't say hi
And that made Wonder sort of pout
Though an oyster's shell can't pucker out

Blasé, one parrot fish glanced back briefly
Then drifted on and on and on ennui
Wonder watched in amazement
What had that empty gaze meant?
Perhaps, he thought, they hadn't heard
So Wonder, loudly, spoke each word

"I'm seeking wisdom," he intoned
O-O-O, the two fish groaned
N-F-R-N-F-R -Y-Y-Y
Then dismissed him with a sigh
Initially Wonder felt chagrin
A sense of hurt pride stung within

"Ignore them," a passing turtle commented
"They're not too smart," he lamented
"That's Yada Yada and Blah Blah Blah
Indifference is their greatest flaw
And of course, their vanity
Accompanied by inanity"

"My name is Twain, by the way
And I don't whitewash what I say
I promise to speak truth that's True
Yes, yes, that's what I always do
I say what's right and say it plain
Untruths reveal a character stain"

"That pair of parrot fish
Are the opposite of cleverish
They just repeat whatever they hear
Lots of gossip, not a thing sincere
Beautiful, yes, but they are shallow fish
Go deeper, if wisdom's what you wish"

Then the turtle glanced from side to side
Up and down... far and wide
Like Huck Finn, old Twain had real street smarts
Though no fin like Huck's swum in these here parts
"Fish can be awfully cruel to one another"
Twain warned, as would a wise big brother

"You look like an oyster whose really nice
That's why I'll share some good advice
I've lived more than half a century
Observing things evidentiary
The world is hardly, if ever, fair to all
But giving up ensures your own downfall"

"Life's journey can have an undertow
It's out there anywhere you go
Sometimes all you see confuses you
Uncertainty about what's best to do
Be careful where you sail your thoughts
Don't anchor in a paradox"

A pair of docks? What does that mean?
Something he was sure he'd never seen
There was so much he didn't know, still
But for all of us there always will
The more we learn, the less we know
That's a paradox that's apropos

And then Twain swam up and away
As the advice that he had shared that day
Sank into Wonder's evolving perspective
Raising thoughts quite introspective
Who and what am I today?
What I think... or what others say?

Certainly Vidi, the sawfish so oyster-obsessed
Didn't think beyond his next oyster quest
He loved all types of oysters, often best in a stew
Savored them plump, raw, and juicy too
Oh, to dine on that oyster and swallow him slow
That's why he'd chase Wonder, wherever he'd go

And what about Yada Yada and Blah Blah Blah?
Do they even think about what they see or saw?
Do some creatures live with an empty mind?
On food for thought they've never dined
Or, perhaps, they just don't care
Living life, unaware

How about you?
What's your point of view?
Want to know?
Yes... or no?
Do you have curiosity?
What would you like to learn and see?