What Kind of Silence
 
What kind of silence do you hear
when you putter around the kitchen, 
getting ready for your day, 
and I’m sitting by the window
drinking coffee, staring off?
I’d rather just stare
but I pick up a book
to set you at ease.
Perhaps you’d rather I chat,
warble like a bird, make sounds 
that reassure you 
I am alive
in ways that are happy and normal.
Or do you enjoy the silence, 
snow falling on snow,
grateful you can concentrate  
on the day ahead, ready yourself
for the challenges that await?
Daughter, how I wish I could serve you,
polish your armor, buckle your boots.
Those days are done.
You are strong now, on your own,
with a strong man beside you.
What kind of silence do you hear?
Wet snowflakes settling down, 
blind slimy creatures
you wouldn’t want to touch
squirming in mud,
the cold black bottom of the ocean, 
huge pitted rocks drifting 
eternally through space?
Pick whatever silence pleases you,
sweet girl.  Pick the silence
you want to hear.

~~~

find brad here.