So I listen

Some days
There’s just not that much to look at

So I listen

I can close my eyes
On any day
And just listen
But I prefer the fog

It is easier
To imagine in darkness
To create a world of light
In my mind

But in the light
With my eyes open
My mind expects to see
My mind expects to know

I want to cleanse my mind
Of the obsession of seeing
Of the hubris of knowing

I want my mind to listen
Even if it can see
I want my mind to question
Even if it knows

So I listen

For the birdsong
The crow’s caw
The gull’s cackle

I listen to the waves
Lapping at the rocky shore
To the ships
Coming in to harbour

When I am filled with these sounds
I let them go
And listen to the silence

Because once
Not long ago
I heard
What could not be heard

What I knew
Crumbled in my mind
Leaving my mind free to accept
It knew nothing

So I listen

I turned my ear to the sounds which I could not hear
Until I learned to hear the silence within

In that silence
A voice speaks truly
An eternal wisdom
A wisdom touched
Only by listening
For a sound that cannot be heard

So I listen
Learning to hear
The voice of silence