Silence Poem by Billy Collins

Silence

Rating: 4.3


There is the sudden silence of the crowd
above a player not moving on the field,
and the silence of the orchid.

The silence of the falling vase
before it strikes the floor,
the silence of the belt when it is not striking the child.

The stillness of the cup and the water in it,
the silence of the moon
and the quiet of the day far from the roar of the sun.

The silence when I hold you to my chest,
the silence of the window above us,
and the silence when you rise and turn away.

And there is the silence of this morning
which I have broken with my pen,
a silence that had piled up all night

like snow falling in the darkness of the house—
the silence before I wrote a word
and the poorer silence now.

Friday, April 24, 2015
Topic(s) of this poem: silence
COMMENTS OF THE POEM
Kelly Kurt 24 April 2015

Silence is one of my favorite topics and you did it justice here, Billy. Thanks for sharing Peace

7 3 Reply
G. Akanji Olaniyi 19 December 2015

Silence is an artistic practice and form.............it is even the noisiest form of art. Tfs! ! ! !

4 5 Reply
P. Mason 20 December 2016

I rather like this, there is a darkness about it that fit me tonight.

4 1 Reply
Bernard F. Asuncion 16 January 2019

And there is the silence of this morning which I have broken with my pen, a silence that had piled up all night Great piece by Billy Collins................

1 0 Reply
Mahtab Bangalee 16 January 2019

silence from the material to immaterial silence is mystic form of the realistic learning//// beautiful poem

0 0 Reply
Dr Antony Theodore 07 November 2019

like snow falling in the darkness of the house— the silence before I wrote a word and the poorer silence now... interesting thoughts on silence. tony

1 0 Reply
Bijay Kant Dubey 25 October 2019

A little bit different from Pope's Ode on Solitude, it clutches in a handful of silence scattering from the stars under the moonshine sometimes, sometimes felt in the orchards and when marking how the things are, how do they exist?

0 0 Reply
Dr Antony Theodore 08 July 2019

The silence of the falling vase before it strikes the floor, the silence of the belt when it is not striking the child. OHH this is a very fine meditation. Silence in my mind, in your mind, in our experiences. tony

0 0 Reply
Khairul Ahsan 16 January 2019

A word of thanks to Annette Potgieter, for her wonderful comment; ... ' I wish to believe that silence is a language the silent understand.' Claps....

0 0 Reply
Khairul Ahsan 16 January 2019

'And there is the silence of this morning which I have broken with my pen, a silence that had piled up all night' - wonderfully said, and I can myself relate to it. Silence is required for creativity.

0 0 Reply
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