Celebrating Silence

Joan Groner

Surrounded by silence

in the hour before sunset

I sit on the patio

Insistent trills

from the house wren

perched on a nearby

bird sculpture

punctuate the quiet

I am still

The day’s frustrations,

and there were many, fade

A young cardinal

lands on the chair

near me

We eye each other

she soars

into the dense foliage

In the light of early evening

the brightness of the luminous

orange and yellow daylilies

intensifies

I breathe deeply

soak up calm beauty

and perhaps

a bit of peace

Until the neighbor’s son

revs up his hot rod

as he roars onto the street

taking my moment with him.