Listen, Do You Hear The Lullaby? Poem by RIC BASTASA

if you know well enough
the house which you named lonely is actually a peaceful abode
of two souls,

the dogs on the yard are sleeping because they had a full meal of meat and bones,

you always fear that they will bite you,
they know me and my presence is enough to
pacify them,
for i am still the master of this
house

you cannot bear the silence
is it too heavy for you to carry?
are you overloaded with fear that silence
is another burden to carry in your mind?

we have a door without a rug,
a window with a cat napping and waking and licking her
fur, and the only sound that perhaps
disturbs the house
on an afternoon like this
is the footstep of an ant which
is carrying a morsel of bread
which was left on the table

after we had coffee
and a restrained laughter
careful not to wake up
a neighbor's baby who is soundly
sleeping
in her cradle

listen, do you hear the lullaby?