Poetry: Of Silence

3.

The technology of silence
The rituals, etiquette

the blurring of terms
silence not absence

of words or music or even
raw sounds

Silence can be a plan
rigorously executed

the blueprint of a life

It is a presence
it has a history a form

Do not confuse it
with any kind of absence
—Adrienne Rich, "Cartographies of Silence"


Great Streets of silence led away
To Neighborhoods of Pause --
Here was no Notice -- no Dissent
No Universe -- no laws -
—Emily Dickinson, "Great Streets of Silence Led Away"



Silence is all we dread.
There's Ransom in a Voice --
But Silence is Infinity.
Himself have not a face.
—Emily Dickinson, "Silence Is All We Dread"

So tell us what is on your mind.
We want to hear the sound of your foliage,
the unraveling of your tool kit,
your songs of loneliness,
your songs of hurt.
—Billy Collins, "Silence"