Scott Simpson · Poetry
A Quiet Place With Strangers
Where the Growth Begins · printed pages 152–152
All poetryThe original line breaks, stanza spacing, and placement are preserved. Long lines scroll horizontally.
Source page 152
A Quiet Place With Strangers
It takes a quiet place
to unstop the ears of the soul;
so much self-protection
in the blaring societies we've made
isn't easily undone;
it sometimes takes
the gentle hands of strangers,
warm water, a bulb-syringe, to free
the plugs.
And as things wash down the sides
of our heads,
past our temples and over our cheeks
we begin again to hear
the music we'd almost forgotten:
lullabies, hummingbird wings
crickets under the porch
After the coma
we come back again
to life
knowing intimately
the harmonics of silence
in the presence of strangers,
their hearts beating wordlessly
counter-rhythmic,
embellishing, finally reviving our own.
There are no strangers.
DR SCOTT SIMPSON
Copyright Scott Simpson, All Rights Reserved