In the Silence

most people are perfectly afraid of silence”

― E.E. Cummings

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in the almost darkness of early evening

the world still

I stand in the vastness of everything

in the shadow of the mountain

there is nothing

just me

and everything

a star, just one

shinning

the mountain ghostly in the dusk

and the sky who goes on

and on forever

into eternity

in the silence

there is no escape from me

thoughts wanted and unwanted race

feelings flow

a restless flood, unbridled

and I must stand and face myself

no reprieve

it is not for the faint of heart

this silence

no wonder we fear it

and flee it

but in the silence

something is found

the subject tonight is

love

which comes

gently

not a shallow love

of that self that is not self

but a love big enough

to embrace all that I am

good, bad, and indifferent

and so in the silence

my soul opens to

the divine dance

and I smile,

and hear the silence broken

by the laughter of coyotes

on the wind