The Quiet

    

Photo: (c) Jamie K. Reaser

I am inspired by the quiet.

Not the silence that would indicate

that I have gone far away from

here and forsaken the meaning

of my life,

but the quiet that comes into a place

like a soft-landing owl;

the quiet that says

everyone and everything is present,

and they are listening.

It’s a quietude that

is too often reserved

for the thresholds of life

and death,

when the spirits are busily

re-minding us of

our emotions,

and testing our concepts

of right

and wrong.

In this world,

How generous we can be with life

when we stop needing to be the

mockingbird on the post

morning,

noon,

and under the nauseating yellow glow

of dingy street light.

There are days when voices

should be reserved for

speaking nothing more than,

“Yes,”

And only in response to

the questions

that no one dared

ask.

© 2012-2020/Jamie K. Reaser
From "Truth and Beauty" (a work in progress)

Feel free to share