The Silence Today
Silence
From my 27th floor balcony that overlooks the river
and what’s left of my view filled with new obstructions
I counted ships and listened to heavy hammers
until 2:28 when the incessant building stopped
I heard the siren blow, saw the the workers
lower their hats and bow their heads in kindred sorrow
Three minutes of silence: a misnomer, more a collective wail
and a country standing fearlessly still, and defiant
I put down my loud-shuttered camera
and lived the memory from one end to the other
and by 2:31 the orphan cry, its unmuffled grief, stopped
and the palpable and inconsolable silence began
I choked out a tearless sigh and moved to my living room
where I saw conscripted into orphanhood a boy whose
shadow-kissed eyes looked out from my computer screen
fixed on an unlived time of parents returned, legs restored
Death, though uninvited, entered every house here too
and collaborated to destroy the imperfect borders
that separate the elevations and declinations of our hearts
across which we’ve all seen sirens ripple half-masted flags
I sat down to type out that sound, to use one word
for every year of sweetness stolen from that boys face
one word for every year I hope replies to the unfamiliar
unity of a singular, confident and nearly miraculous silence
–A work in progress 5/19/2008
Some wonderful stories were published today (China Vortex) that should relay to the west the immensity of this tragedy and the galvanizing effect it has has on this nation.
The Chinese people will forgo entertainment for two more days of mourning less because the government has ordered it, and more because of an unprecedented national need for unity, comfort and cooperation.
Earthquake in China
