Stillness

Stillness I

Stillness can be unnerving.
It can toss up a few dead feelings
And bring them back to life.

It can take you back,
Sometimes to a rainy afternoon
When you and I lay down next to each other.
I stretched my hand and tried to touch your finger
I heard you say something
Now I don’t quite remember what.
but I remember I closed my eyes and felt the kiss
Even before you came close enough
For me to feel your heart beat.
When I opened my eyes,
You were still fiddling with my fingertips.

Sometimes on a rainy afternoon
In an idle moment of unusual calmness
I close my eyes
And listen to the rain touch the ground,
Sense some drops running down the shed,
Some caressing the trees, the leaves on their way.

I imagine the pictures as my ears
Wander off to the sound
Of a speeding auto,
Distant voices and shouting children
And I wonder if they are playing a game of muck football.
And then all fades, bringing the music
Of the downpour back into foreground.

Stillness II

Stillness stirs you,
Makes you see things
You wouldn’t see with open eyes.
It pushes you to follow
The footsteps of your heart,
Tells you to find yourself in being lost.
Makes you feel longing,
Makes you feel your own breath,
And makes you seek the company of your own soul.
It tells you that sometimes it’s alright
To have nothing to do but think,
Or sit around listening to your own heartbeat,
Which so often stays drowned
In the noise of things you surround yourself with,
Just so that you feel alive.