57. Poem of the day: "Silence" by Billy Collins
There is the sudden silence of
the crowd
above a player not moving on
the field,
and the silence of the orchid.
The silence of the falling
vase
before it strikes the floor,
the silence of the belt when
it is not striking the child.
The stillness of the cup and
the water in it,
the silence of the moon
and the quiet of the day far
from the roar of the sun.
The silence when I hold you to
my chest,
the silence of the window
above us,
and the silence when you rise
and turn away.
And there is the silence of
this morning
which I have broken with my
pen,
a silence that had piled up
all night
like snow falling in the
darkness of the house—
the silence before I wrote a
word
and the poorer silence
now.
Source: Poetry (April 2005).