Jeffery Allen Tobin

Audible Architecture
 
Voices rise within the vaulted expanse of the cathedral,
each syllable a brick laid upon air,
building a dome of sound,
visible only in the way light bends
around the vibrations,
stained glass throwing colors
that dance to the rhythm of hymns.
 
Outside, the city pulses,
a cacophony of horns and heels against pavement,
where every sound competes for airspace,
carving its path through the concrete jungle.
The symphony of urban life
layers upon itself,
a living, breathing, moving collage,
defining the boundaries of its own creation.
 
Further out, in a meadow bordered by forest,
the sigh of the wind through grass
creates a soft carpet,
footsteps absorbed by earth,
notes of birdsong hanging delicately
like threads of silk caught in sunlight.
Here, the environment listens,
holds each tone close to its chest,
treating it with the gentle reverence
of a secret kept safe.
 
At the shore, waves orchestrate
their relentless crashing of cymbals,
each crest a timpani of foam--
sound shaped by the meeting
of liquid and land,
an auditory testament
to ancient dialogues,
etched deep in brine and stone.
 
Through each space, sound moves--
a traveler, changing costumes
as it enters rooms, open fields, cityscapes,
always leaving behind a trace of itself,
a reminder that here,
within this aural architecture,
we live, we move, we exist--
not just within places,
but within the sounds they inhabit,
each environment a note
in the vast score of existence.
 

 
The Mockingbird’s Mosaic
 
From a high perch in the cradle of an oak,
a mockingbird launches its aria into the dawn.
A ripple of melody unfolds,
each note a brushstroke on the canvas of morning.
 
The song—a prism splitting sunlight,
transforms as it travels through the arms of the tree,
dappled by leaves that sway and shudder,
filtering chords into a dance of shadows.
 
Past the bark’s rugged silhouette,
the tune tumbles through a breeze,
catching the rhythms of other birds,
a symphony borrowed, stitched seamlessly
into the mockingbird’s own vibrant quilt.
 
Downward it spirals, along the spine of light
that slips through branches,
glancing off a spider’s silken threads--
each vibration a shiver in the web of daybreak.
 
The song sweeps over the dew-laden grass,
bending each blade slightly under the weight
of its invisible passage.
Nearby, a brook murmurs in applause,
mimicking the melody with its watery tongue.
 
Through the open window of a waking house,
the notes wander, restless but soft,
filling the room like morning mist.
They curl around my ears, a serenade
softened by the journey,
a whisper compared to its bold beginning.
 
In this gentle arrival,
the song finds its purpose,
an ever-changing tale told anew--
a mosaic of the world, heard and held
in the quiet contemplation of an audience of one.
 
 
 
 

Jeffery Allen Tobin is a political scientist and researcher based in South Florida. His extensive body of work primarily explores U.S. foreign policy, democracy, national security, and migration. Currently affiliated with Florida International University, he contributes to both the academic community and policymaking sphere. He has been writing poetry and prose for more than 30 years. He has forthcoming publications in Passionfruit Review, Loud Coffee Press, North of Oxford, Poetry Pacific, and Rundelania.