Words scattered over audience

restless in their seats—

some catch, some stick,

some float past the ushers

out into the freedom.

We are trapped in hearing.

Each of us misses a word

now and then, not the same word,

probably most of them get missed

until all that talk

there is nothing said

and silence is allowed to begin—

music, that is, the closest

we can ever get to real silence.

17 February 2019