Sound-bound in Shared Chaos
Taryn Hubbard
What is in the space between the wisdom to survive and the will to go on?
Artists have been doing this for generations.
The news report claims younger people lack the preparedness for disaster.
And what disaster are we destined for today may I ask?
Working 9-to-5 with a 5-to-9 routine every bit as cumbersome and lonely, all in the name of securing another ever-precarious income stream.
He could go on and on and on if given the proper monetized platform.
The home had windows that opened only a couple of inches so at least no one could tumble out, let alone protrude a fist or shut out the moans of the family ghosts stuck outside.
An outlaw mother teaches her kids that it’s okay to enjoy a moment of good weather without a plan.
The kids in a soft touch of afternoon light jump on each other in a display of commotion that rocks the room with shouts and laughter.
The mom sashayed around the kitchen hoping to keep the ether radiant.
Where does the wisdom to survive grow from?
Another news story shares that consumer spending is down and, really, can consumers remember their role here please.
I made a great choice on the fast fashion jacket during the 24-hour sale, sale, sale.
The dilemma of the evil twin when the gentle parenting voice enters the conversation.
Half these kids on the soccer field are crying and the other half desperately want to.
Download the quiet songs to help you fall asleep, and the stories told in a voice that drones in a frequency specially engineered for corpses.
We can’t sweep the floors with the amended definition of a broom.
You left something in your cart and because you allowed us to place the cookies on your device and now we’re follloooooowing you.
Are we downsizing or right-sizing, perhaps it’s all capsizing?
The wind outside rustles the final golden leaves waiting to let go of the tree and the softness of it connects with a childhood.
Later the shed door creaks open to a space beyond the clouds.
The flourish of the atmosphere here, well, it’d be the perfect score for a waltz…
Taryn delivered a reading of this piece during the Sound panel at the 2025 Fraser Valley Writers Festival.
Taryn Hubbard is a Canadian writer living in the Fraser Valley. She is the author of the poetry book, Desire Path (Talonbooks, 2020) and the novel, The Very Good Best Friend (Now or Never, 2025). Her second poetry collection, Beautiful Unknown Future, is forthcoming in April 2026 (Talonbooks). She is currently editing her next novel and hatching up new poems.
Her poetry, fiction, reviews, and interviews have been included in journals such as Canadian Literature, Room magazine, The Capilano Review, Canadian Woman Studies, CV2, filling Station, carte blanche, subTerrain, WRITE, and others.