Dead Silence

By Cliff Lake

 

Dead Silence

 

Why do you shout so?

You have been heard before.

Though not all your words have been so clumsy.

Still, some have disguised their intent.

Too long you have professed charity,

Too long you have written the moral.

Too long behind the compassionate rifle,

Too long taking careful aim.

Soiled virtue your superhero cape,

You become the cartoon villain.

The generous hand can also wield the whip,

What price goodwill?

Transactional friendships tire eventually.

Broadcasted voice gone strident,

Your red glare rocks the ramparts,

Stripes and stars inverted fly.

Has your twilight come at last?

Or is dawn yet coming,

Not as much a rebirth as a lesson:

Dark will not endure.

Will you again be a giant,

But more gallant,

More genial,

More grounded,

And less grinding.

With such hands,

Giving could be lavish,

And still provide comfort at home.

No miser has yet carried his savings beyond.

Let these times be the pain of growth –

Death throes are so uncomely.

Is there no voice of calm within you?

Must we be alarmed to every shadow?

No one has taken from me

That which I did not have.

Why raise spectres of threats imagined?

The ghosts of possibilities do not haunt me.

Still the shouting persists,

Claiming injury,

Promising harm,

Avowing vengeance,

And pleasing no one more than itself.

And yet,

Should it go silent,

Will it be the chirping cricket we hear?

Or the ticking clock?

 

Cliff Lake 8/9/2025

Copyright © Clifford Lake 2025

Location: 1100 S Ocean Blvd, Palm Beach, FL 33480, USA

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