“The Other Side of Silence”

A lot of people
Some strangers.
Laughter, Voices
The false applause from the idiot box.

And among all this
I can hear the sound
Of the old wooden staircase creaking
Someone going up or coming down?

Above the din
I hear the crinkling sound of your laughter
Like the deep rumbling of dry grass catching fire

Night moves on
Turns in the warm embrace of darkness
Going deeper
The sweet smell of silence
The soft rustle of trees
Silently beckoning

The wind shifts direction
Can’t make up its mind
Howls sometimes
In confusion?
Or was that a cry of victory
At reaching the top of the mountain?

The sounds all around me
Strange at first
Now are familiar and talking to me
Same old conversations
Like old friends
Meeting after a long time
Catching up on Gossip
Oh!
I have missed a lot.

I am walking in the dark
But my legs seem to know the path
No faltering

A ripple of laughter
Just stirred inside me
Deep deep down
With the depth of an eagles flight
With the resonance of a lions roar

I breathe deeply
And revel
A strange known spirit guides me
To the other side of silence.

Rhea