Musa Tone

Nanny & Grandad

had this old wireless radio

they never turned on, 

when I was young 

I’d try to twist the dials 

way beyond the AM

listening carefully for distant voices,

potential morse code 

or messages from future civilisations

but as hard as I tried 

I was only ever met with static silence,

the dead air between the here and now,

a buzzing like the electrons of my hair

seconds before the lightning flashes

and the thunderclaps,

like 1am when the television signal

ceases to be and I’m sitting alone

listening to the “MUSA” tone

staring at the Test Card F,

I sometimes wonder if that old radio

has been turned on yet

because I could never find the switch