Today I have nothing to say.
So I will hold my tongue
And remain silent.
I will not be tempted to
Offer a platitude as empty
As a rattling tin, rusted
From years of neglect.
What can be said that is
Worthy of this moment?
Some moments are simply
Too deep to contain words;
Too heavy for feather-words
That float away on the wind.
Sometimes the obscurity of
Darkness is just the shield we need,
Where definitions diffuse
And answers hide away.
To hang our heads low and weep is
Better bread than much of
What is offered on the table
To feed our hungry souls.
We know we cannot pretend
To really understand, but all
Too often we pretend that we do.
Let there be silence today.
And tomorrow, and tomorrow’s tomorrow.
And if in time we find a word, or words
With Enough gravity to hold them down
Then, maybe then, I will break my silence.

(In response to the Sandy Hook massacre on 14 December 2012)