SCHTUM

fall the prayers on which we choke

God speaks in the silence of the heart.
Listening is the beginning of prayer.—Mother Teresa

i saw a bird
on a broken branch
poised to soar in flight
with the birthing morn
yield to her plight
or the sky carte blanche?
for her wing was torn
when a bullet whirred
nor could that bird her song invoke

i saw a man
at the water’s edge
at the edge of life
at the edge of death
conflict and strife
he could not assuage
every fleeting breath
sealed his wayward plan
but not a word his silence broke

i see a world
plunged by season change
to the edge of hope
to the edge of doom
dangling time’s rope
lost and cold and strange
‘neath a growing gloom
as the days unfold
SCHTUM fall the prayers on which we choke

© Copyright 2019 November 20
by Clyve A. Bowen♫