This Silence

I want to capture this silence and take it home
where human intrusions press against my edges

Here in the ranchland loudness is only the scolding of squirrels
and the sudden clanging of the sandhill crane

Silence surrounds
It seeps under the skin and creeps into the heart
Thoughts can drain away, or know their own insignificance

The mind strains for the voices within the silence
for silence has its own quiet orchestra;
the creak and groan of trees moving
the undercurrent of grouse drumming

The soul reaches out to the vastness
and is content to listen
for the birth of wind slowly gathering in the trees
to sweep over fields and be gone

Radha