On being silent
I read to people in large rooms
but I can’t hear myself
I feel constrained
my words seem distant
somehow empty
echoing in an empty room
I feel I’m of another time
a sense of regret
I accepted silence for too long
and now feel that I should return
to a world of silence again.
A shepherd has read
a poem I wrote about him
and now looks at me with a new eye
there is a warmth
that I have honoured him
I am someone who has troubled
to write about him
and given importance to his life.
He said quietly that he took time
to read my words
and smiled.
For William.
