Unfolding Silence

Unfolding Silence

December 6, 2012

 

I come deep into the woods to find silence;
My dog dives in the snow while I enjoy the hike
through drifting white rising over my knees
I see the fluttering cotton resting upon the trees.

Inches on the ground, with more inches in the air,
Sound deafens in these woods, captured and subdued.
I speak and the voice drops in the bank in a grim mood
And even the wind embraces the trees with soft solitude.

It insulates; it absorbs the noises leaving only nothing to be heard.
Little by little I tune in my ears to observe the unfolding silence,
I could stay out here today, and perhaps even another day.
If only--yes, if only--from the business of life I could find a way.

 

 

__________

 

 

Beginning some time in 2010, I noticed a significant decrease in my hearing.  I first am accompanying tinnitus while hiking in the deep snow with my dog Chica in the Poplar Creek Forest Preserve in the same year.   I hiked a lot that year since work slowed down considerably, eventually leading me to accept a position as carpenter at Harvest Bible Chapel, in Elgin, IL.