Listen

¿Qué escuchas mientras trabajas?

While I work, I hear the wind on the roof running through the old tiles, and in the big trees pushing bent the twigs, sometimes the machines busy in the fields around.

There’s always birds singing. Sometimes they do competitions for loudness. On occasions they shout long conversations from one side to the valley to the other like good neighbours do on the sunny streets of towns, sitting in their branches. They sing and respond in very polite turns. Sometimes there’s a pause, and they continue after thinking of the next thing to talk about.

I also hear the zumming and the buzzing and the flapping of wings of all shapes visiting the flowers. I hear the branches rubbing up above, and the chattering of the thousand leaves. I hear the squirrels running on the tops, pushing through leaves and dangerously jumping from one tree to the next.

I hear my steps, the crushing of the gravel, the squelch of the mud, the soft pressing on the green grass while walking down away from the house.

I hear my breathing. And when I do, I check my posture, take air deeply and slowly, and try to acknowledge the state of the machine, and I think on how I’m taking care of it.

I’m probably forgetting about the sound of the chickens, they can be quite loud, the laughter of the children, and the long song of the stream.

I hear the capsules shaking the seeds away with the breeze. I hear the grass being combed. I hear something rustling in the hedge as I walk by and I never get to see what it was.

Sometimes it’s the humming of the alpacas that I hear, and their nose smelling me close in their typical greeting gesture, making the air sound as they take in my recognisable essence. They gather around, and Dora cushes next to me as she does, while they observe me do my jobs. Sometimes I take the time to sit with them and we all listen. But they hear more than me. Their ears tell me where things are, and their body language tells me what kind of thing they’re hearing, for the once revered gifts of gods can also hear and tell me good from bad.