“Be still and know,”
the Spirit of Silences admonishes.

God speaks not in the upheaval
of mountains, convulsions

of thunder, tempest of tiny tyrants
stamping their feet.

Listen for the aquamarine
high morning sky,

its orange puffs of cloud.
Peace be with you.

Be still.
Listen.

*Victoria Amelina, “Nothing Bad Has Ever Happened,” Nothing Bad Has Ever Happened: A Bouquet for Victoria Amelina, Edited by Askold Melnyczuk, Arrowsmith Press, 2023, pp. 137-145; “listen to the silences,” p. 144.