Second Thursday of Advent

Read Psalm 62

        the abomination

perhaps auden is right
            that we are
    'more afraid of silence'*

why else do we
    pack our ears
        with buds of songs
    as we walk on a
            crisp wintry morning;

why else do we
    draw an iron curtain
            of riveting conversation
            about the weather and sports
        between us
            and our neighbors
    on the evening
                bus;

why else do we
    become so inarticulate
        when gifted with
        the time and place
    to speak out against
            poverty,
                violence,
                    trafficking;

yet
it is in silence that

we find the harbor
    for our restless hearts;
we see the sister who
        is hungry,
             the brother who
        longs for a friend;
we hear the hope
    whispered by the
    sliver of moon in
            the night sky.

wait
in silence,
    o my soul,
        in silence.

© 2010 Thom M. Shuman

* 'We are afraid
   Of pain but more afraid of silence; for no nightmare
   Of hostile objects could be as terrible as the Void.
   This is the Abomination.  This is the Wrath of God.'
       W. H. Auden, "For the Time Being: A Christmas Oratorio"

Thom