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