𓅪 the swing set that sounded like birds chirping

8 Feb 2025

I saw a playground. From the looks of it, I think it hadn't been used in a while.

I saw a rusty metal swingset on the east side of the area.

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image: an illustration of a double-sided swing which i found online.

Since i didn't have any particular tasks at hand, I decided to sit on the swing and, well, swing. I found it relatively comfortable.

As i swung, pushing my legs to build momentum, the metal swing squeaked.

"ki-ko"

A rhythmic squeaking it was, sort of like an old bicycle. I remember humming something to it... i forgot what tune specifically, though. My best guess would be Pachelbel's "Canon in D Major".

Due to certain features of the swing, i could easily control the tempo of the swinging without stopping the motion entirely; i decided to play around with it.

"KEEE-"

"-kooo"

"KEEE-"

"-kooo"

That's how i'd describe the sound it made when i pushed the swing with great force. The "KEEE" was a loud squeak, while the "kooo" was a quiet but scratchy one. This was only one of the sound variations i experimented with.

In addition, the positioning of my body also affected how the squeaks sounded.

As i was sitting with a certain posture, the swing had learned to sing longer notes which also shifted in pitch.

"keeooee"

note transcription: B (kee) - D (ooo) - B (ee)

I felt greatly amused doing what i did at the time. It was like I was conducting an orchestra and crafting the perfect mixtures of sound and silence.

But one thing i'm most eager to note (which has become the namesake of this entry) is the ever so light, high-pitched squeaks that imitated a flock of sparrows chirping in the distance.

"twiwiwit"

"twiwiwiwi"

I'm at a loss of onomatopoeia to describe this sound. ("onomatopoeia"... a word i could improve my spelling & pronunciation of, hehe)

Actually, now that i think about it, the sound resembled the one created by the "nightingale floor" used in some japanese palaces.

The bird-like sounds persisted even when i swung with delicacy (to the best of my ability). In fact, i could hear them even more clearly when the louder squeaks were subdued.

I liked creating and listening to all these sounds. It's like i was joining in on the birds, singing their songs.

Fun fact: when i first heard the bird-like sound, i thought there were a flock of sparrows nearby. Only when i realized that the sounds matched my humming did i notice it was actually the swing...

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#25feb #bird