If I am silent
It is because there is thunder growing inside me
Filling clouds with striking electricity
It is the quiet before the storm
The church’s warning bells ringing.
If I am silent
It is because the tide pulls back from the shore
Before it crashes in tsunami waves
It is the drought before the flood,
The fisherman’s knowledge of superstition.
If I am silent
There is no tranquility behind my closed mouth
My complacency is a crumbling facade
It is a dangerous thing
The calm amidst the encroaching chaos.
the Honest Poet 