Silence
~~~~~
I cannot hear the wind today.
No cricket sings sweet melodies.
Birds are silent in the trees.
The reeds are quiet bent.

I feel cement beneath my feet,
wait patiently for an echo
that never comes.
Children do not laugh or call
as they play.
Traffic passes
without a screech, honk
or motorized hum.

At the cafe on the corner,
the band's vibrations
jar my bones
in silent air.
I want a particular song --
feeling it will be enough --
but the ink of my note fades;
I have no way to ask for it.

The waitress looks expectant,
lips never part.
My mouth moves
issuing mute words.
I must point to my choice, but
pages have been torn from my book.

Fireworks light the sky,
no familiar bang follows,
and I wonder who
celebrates this deaf world?

Soundless sobs wrack my chest.
I would give anything
for a bit of noise ....
the chirp of a cricket,
serenade of a bird,
laughter of children, or
at least,
the words to make it happen.

(c) 1995 Trina

This one was also found on a mesage board for poems banned by Amercan online.