Soon After Rain
Soon after rain has stopped a silence comes
when no bird sings and no wind stirs.
The world seems briefly mute
and sweet attention’s everywhere.
When no bird sings and no wind stirs
the world itself seems to have hushed,
and sweet attention’s everywhere:
no circling ripples stir the pond.
The world itself seems to have hushed:
traffics of sound have disappeared,
no circling ripples stir the pond,
the turtles staying still on rocks.
Traffics of sound have disappeared,
a sense of absence everywhere:
the turtles staying still on rocks,
and no fish strike at phantom flies.
A sense of absence everywhere,
as if nothing has the need to breathe,
and no fish strike at phantom flies,
and nothing has the need to speak.
As if nothing has the need to breathe,
the world itself seems briefly mute,
and nothing has the need to speak.
Soon after rain has stopped a silence comes.
by James Hoggard
As heard on Texas Poets Podcast - April, 2016