In Response To Humbird’s Question

 

 

In Response to Humbird’s Question

Yes, I firmly believe
that silence
can, and if kept too long,
will scorch the spirit.

Have known many
(mostly women)
that have forced themselves,
body and soul,
to live in a stupor of silence
caged in barbed wire
by another’s misdirected rage.
Jaws locked shut for sake
of foolish pride, hiding behind
a polite wall of prevarication.
Recklessly blind to what
they are wordlessly teaching their
sons and daughters.

Their defense no more
than a thin drifting drizzle
against that constantly banked
but regularly fed inferno.
Like the beautiful young woman
with huge sunglasses fixed across
most of her face at 3:30 in the morning,
while her right hand
softly massaged the purpling bruise
on her shoulder, who whispered
in a plaintive chord,
“You must understand,
I know, deep down,
I know,
he never really means
to hurt me.”

Elizabeth Crawford 1/26/15

Notes: It was not my intent to post anything today. I came here to make sure I had responded to all the comments left yesterday. Found a new one from Humbird, so clicked on her name, only to find that she had responded to a different wordle this morning. The words were interesting, but I was looking for yesterday’s response. That poem was about silence and ended with a question. “Can silence scorch the spirit?” I immediately felt a response forming on my lips. Then remembered that other list of words from today’s wordle and was off and running. My response comes directly from my own experience, and a distinct memory of a young woman who faced me across the in-take desk of the Women’s Shelter where I worked years ago. Thank you Humbird, for your comment and this swift but rather exhilarating experience.

Here are the words to this new wordle:

Force
Body
Astral
Stupor
Drizzle
Jaw
Pride
Chord
Blinding
Reckless
Prevaricate (to speak falsely, to give the wrong impression)
Fixture

I used all but one. And the link where they may be found:

Monday Wordle #45 – January 26, 2015

Humbird’s blog may be found here:

http://humbirdstar.blogspot.com/

Image is yet another digital painting.