Poem: Silence Speaks
Silence Speaks
by Skye Wagoner | San Clemente, CA
This poem was inspired by the vow of silence I took while walking the Camino Francés in the summer of 2023.
To talk without speaking
Every facial expression takes on new meaning
Each flick of my fingers
And shrug of my shoulders
Does not leave me any colder
Without talking to others
My voice promised to the ether
I’ve found the lonely person’s cure
Nothing births more intimate communication
Than holding an audience without words
This form of connection is a newfound vacation
From the prison hold of able conversation
There is no pressure to respond
And it inevitably invokes an intimate bond
With the other, with you, and language itself
The dictionary on the shelf
And charades out to engage
Beings around the world
With nothing
but
space
Words often leave us tongue-tied
Unable to understand and listless when we listen
Silence is the boundless space of blank paper
Beautiful when not marred by scribbles from a pen
This poem was featured in our Winter 2024 issue of La Concha. The theme was “The Artist’s Way”, and you can find the full issue in our archive here.