Many are the silences I love
the forest on a windless day
in mid-December
when the birds
have ceased their chatter
and the fog
softens and blurs the outlines
of the trees
and those moments of silence
between friends
or lovers holding close
no need for talk
the quiet says enough
but there are those
whose purpose is to hurt
to shut one out
a cruel withholding of the words
that might bring healing
and of course
there are those larger silences
whole countries keep
rather than admit to histories
too painful to remember
horrors of war and genocide
atrocities commited in the name
of some religious myth or national interest
or simply for enrichment
like the Opium Wars
the list goes on
but as a music lover
I listen for the silence
that's behind the notes
and which the music needs
the way that lightning needs
to flash within the depths
of a dark nighttime sky