'Silence' Poem by Pushpinder Kaur

SILENCE

Silence is what I hear most in your house Mom
Silence with you gone
Silence that makes me hear you if I try
Silence except the rustling of the speeding fan
Silence except the snoring of my Father from time to time
Silence at the time when he would be up before dawn preparing for his morning walk
Silence except the sound of the crickets
Silence… interrupted by the sweet chirping of the birds outside on the mango trees
Silence broken beautifully by the melodious cooing of the nightingale
Silence reverberated by the barking dogs on the silent roads at night
Silence filled with the swishing of the Ashoka trees in the breezy winds
Silence is all you heard Mom with us all gone
Silence is what I always heard while back home on vacation
Silence that made itself doubly heard while I walked from one room to the other
Silence is what you heard most for years on end
Silence is what Father hears now
Silence of his own mind
Silence which wipes out the noise of this world
Silence marked by a silent connection with God
Silence from the word
Silence all by itself…


Pushpinder Kaur June 22,2018