Silences

So many kinds of silence

Good and bad

The silence of unhumaned nature

even softer in the night

calming and consoling

The silence between spent lovers

when no words need be spoken

for every tender thought to be heard

The blessed silence of my house

when loss of power

abruptly stops the ceaseless humming

Then, the cold silence of the dead beneath our feet

And the colder silence between lovers afraid

of what they need to speak

The silence of a room inhabited alone

The silence between awkward sentences

willing, in vain, a wordless understanding

So many silences.

Of all of them

Yours, my love,

Were the most beautiful

And the most devastating