When Silence Arrives
By John Herlihy

I lay down and just closed my eyes,
Darkness swallowed me by surprise.
Pressed my fingers against the lids,
The hour seemed like lying on grids.
I held myself together in one piece,
The noise of the world soon ceased.
I quickly sensed something amiss,
A melting with the arrival of bliss.
Worry can be loud while fear is soft,
But silence can simply hold us aloft.
Silence forever concealed within time,
Noise forever claiming me and mine.
Silence lies in stillness like soft feathers,
Silence hides in all seasons and weathers.
The moment, the price, and the sound,
Silence arises from deep within ground.
When silence arrives, mysteries unfold,
I learn to forget what I have been told.
Silence lifts me up on extended wing,
Leaving all noise and what it may bring.