Advent 11: Silence

Advent Poem-a-Day

Silent Night

When the phone stops 
ringing and the tv is off
and the laptop is closed
for the night, and I’m leaning 
back on my bed pillows 
listening for silence, 
the next layer of noise 
makes itself known: rain 
against the windowpane, 
highway sounds in 
the distance, ringing 
in my ears. And in the 
noisy quiet, the truth 
of the thing rings clear, 
that silence is less about 
what we hear and more 
about how we live.