In Silence We Yearn
By John Herlihy

Noise of the world we spurn;
In complete silence we yearn.
The breath makes no sound;
Patient hope waits to be found.

Life’s golden nectar I wish to sup;
Emptiness fills my wooden cup.
I see not hear the blowing wind;
On tree branches their note pinned.

I read messages nature extends,
When the tree spreads her arms.
In holy prostration, it simply bends,
Then offers its peace as a sacred balm.

The mystery of silence attracts us;
We feel wrapped up in its calm.
When raucous noise distracts us,
We give up hearing the inner psalm.

Breath and wind mimic soul and spirit,
Invisible but real from second to minute.
Sheer silence protects the absence of sound;
A holy stillness fills the Earth’s ground.

The air turns chill as we await summer’s death;
A new season arrives with the whiteness of breath.
While the colorful autumn leaves quietly burn,
In stillness and silence, we just as quietly yearn.