And so we sat
without talking
letting the silence say
all the words
letting the silence
hold
all the stories
we had already told each other
all the truths we didn't know how to say
letting the silence
express
all the pain
all the gratitude
all the memories of children's smiles
and family gone
all the hoplessness
and all the kindling sticks of hope reborn
all the broken promises and broken hearts
all the love throbbing in our chests
all the power burning in our bellies
all the crying and screams stuck in our throats
the silence took it all in
the silence had all the space we needed
the silence said all we needed to hear
the silence held all we had to hand out
the silence became a thing
a tower of strength we could lean on
meld with
join
our silence strengthened it
built it thicker and taller
and wider
and yet it was lighter than air
we could pass our eyes and hands right through it
the silence
and we could feel it spread out from us and extended into the night
the candle burned
in the center of us
like a single bright coal broken from the sun
melding with the dark
and we held the silence
and felt the power
that we didn't need words to know.
