It's been years now
the buzzing in my ears
soft but persistent
forcing me to listen
all the harder if I want to reach
through it to the other side
to hear the silence
that descends once midnight's past
the house quiet
and the dogs both fast asleep
that's well enough
but when I'm in the mountains
where the silence is immense
then dearly I miss hearing it
without the constant buzz
which when it first came on
seemed a betrayal
even a wounding
until the thought occured
that this too is eternity
as if God were whispering in my ear
and now it seems
there's nothing I can do
to shut that whisper out