Silence

The poem

Since I lost you I am silence-haunted, Sounds wave their little wings A moment, then in weariness settle On the flood that soundless swings.

Whether the people in the street Like pattering ripples go by, Or whether the theatre sighs and sighs With a loud, hoarse sigh:

Or the wind shakes a ravel of light Over the dead-black river, Or night's last echoing Makes the daybreak shiver:

I feel the silence waiting To take them all up again In its vast completeness, enfolding The sound of men.