Expressive Silence Poem by Jo Lynn Ehnes

A pinch of pain,
I guess that's what it was—
a sting from words not spoken.

Funny,
how the lack of response
hurts more
than any written
or verbal stab of honesty.

It's the unknown,
the presuming factor—
taking hold, wrapping around,
strangling a mind
already questioning itself.

I suppose
a concrete answer's
too much to ask.
One shouldn't have the need
to be showered with enlightenment
when knowledge dwells within.

Yet,
it would have
lessened the sting,
that small tweak to the heart—

if those words
had been uttered.