Friday, February 4, 2011

a place of silence



i have a strong sense
of passing through this place
in the life i am living as steven


but i know that i am not steven
well, not exclusively
not precisely
not only

i know that
steven is "i"

the first few layers

i also know
that unpacking the "i" of steven
you'll find a collection of maps
of the knowing of himself
as perceived by himself
and then also
as perceived by others

steven is a history of events and ideas
that have been borrowed
and assembled
to create something
that is
almost an object
as real as can be sensed by the senses
felt by the heart
and known by the mind

but pull all of that away
and put it
in the drawer
of the one great moment

and i bet that there's a silence
deeper than any winter woods

no tell-tale footprints left behind
whose stories can be tracked and told

no fluttering of the wings of worldly wisdom

no birdsongs of revelation

just a place of silence

~

i am the wind that wavers
you are the certain land
i am the shadow that passes
over the sand

italicized words excerpted from "i am the wind" by zoe akins