The Silence.

Hello!  The house is empty, shockingly quiet

Dust settles, time ticks by, but there’s no sound

Of your voice, your footstep, or your laughter

There’s no sound at all, – listen to the quiet.

 

There is peace,… and there is quiet

You enjoy peace together

You endure quiet alone

This quiet is lonely – lonely as the grave.

 

Peace, be at peace!  Accept that there will be no more

Laughter – at least not your laughter

Or scolding, or just plain old bustle

No more shopping dropped on the kitchen floor.

 

No more shouts to and from the kitchen

No more shouts up the stairs

Just quiet, and eccentric babbling

to someone who is no longer there.

 

There is a noise that breaks the silence

Listen to the grown man weep

In solitude. In emptiness the tears flow

Hoping impossibly; that the silence is just a dream.

 

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