A Quiet Roar

By Cliff Lake

 

A Quiet Roar

 

The silence.

That’s always the first tell:

One learns to listen

For what is not heard.

 

The stillness surrounds,

A lull for the unwary,

What is unheard,

Continues.

 

What has gone unsaid?

The silence between the words,

May tell more,

Than what was purposed.

 

What meaning has the unspoken?

What goes untold?

What has yet to be said,

And what lies between?

 

Have you said everything?

Have you said anything?

Have you spoken much,

And said nothing?

 

Have you heard everything?

Have you heard anything?

Have you listened,

And heard nothing?

 

What is left to be said?

What is left to be heard?

Why bother saying anything?

Why bother listening?

 

There is much to be heard

In the unspoken.

There may be less to hear,

In speech going on too long.

 

There is too much talking going on.

There is too much silence after.

Listen for those things left unsaid,

Hear the silence between the words.

 

Cliff Lake 8/26/2024

Copyright © Clifford Lake 2024

Location: Wichita, KS, USA

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