Tintinnabulation, a word first coined in 1849 by American poet and author Edgar Allen Poe. It is a neologism and a portmanteau. Derived from Latin tinnire – to ring, to tinkle; bulum – affix meaning musical instrument. An onomatopoeia, it means a ringing or tinkling sound.
This word appeared also in the poem “Quietude” by Odin Roark which I shared in yesterday’s post. This morning, as I woke, I was greeted by ‘tintinnabulation’ in seemingly endless permutations. Unable to think of how to present this word, I began to contemplate it in poetic form; below is that contemplation.
Tintinnabulation
by Jason Paul Seaux
A million bells in silence
the din of their voices pierceBut
save to me, their lone, unwilling auditor,
the silence
unpiercéd lingersfor all who would
but cannot,
be glad, the silent stillnessempty
alone
is yours to hear, to cherish
— blessed by silence
but know it not.Their ringing,
joy, is meantyet unwilling
their secret listener
grows tired, who cannot— escape…
tintinnabulation
abulationtintin
abulationtintinnabulation
bulation
.