Mamsahlapika

Spiders web

by Diane Cubit

Listen carefully the quiet is speaking,

softly, warmly, saying;

“We are here, we are here,

we matter, we are here.”

Moments pass and the quiet wiggles,

stretches and grows.

The uncomfortable silence follows me,

through the lines.

I hide between the spaces,

as an excuse to my real fears,

But the quiet becomes deafening,

and painful.

I cry, and cry louder and louder,

hoping my noise will outlast the quiet,

But alas, no one can hear me

because no one is listening carefully.