Silently (Censored) Poem by Robert Rorabeck

In this world the
Very loud one,
Where angels fly like
Airplanes,
It’s best to say nothing at
All,
And if you can learn at a
Very young age
To walk away from your
Parents, your favorite
Toy,
There you will come to
Know everything—

Silence occupies the largest
Country inside you—
That great colorless beast
Cannot be surgically removed
By societal instruments,
Silver of sharp counterfeit—
Talk as loud as you
Want,
Hide in a crowded room
With your hand occupying
A glass of boisterous wine—
Shout across the street
To your neighbor,
Clap to draw his attention,
Ask him to borrow something,
Go drink beer at a football game,
F-ck a woman you love
Or do not love,
Make her scream your name
To reassure your existence—

The beast inside you will
Still be there,
Watching you from the tall grass,
The hungry eyes know the name
Even God doesn’t know—
It will only get closer and closer
Until you recognize it,
Until you know it is a part of you,

And your family will look at you
Confounded and say,
Who the hell are you?
We don’t know you—

But it is best not to
Say a thing
Just walk away steadily
With purpose,
But do not run
Or they will devour you.

Live instead in your
Own wilderness,
The only thing ever
To exist
With the hungry beast
Inside, purring voiceless
Down your throat

Cut your veins and feed it
Until you are utterly consumed.
Then you will look out at the
Bright yellow things that speed
By you
From its eyes
And you will exist as
Silent thought floating above
The heads looking up,
The cacophonous seas of
Echoing nothingness trying
To survive by turning tricks in
The void

You escape from,
A translucent satellite
Traveling ever upwards
Silently.