From: Sonnets, 1991
William Paul McKane
The peace of silence quiets troubled souls,
It bathes the spirit, concentrates the mind;
It stills the passions, consecrates, consoles,
Refreshes energies, restores, refines.
How much of me I spend in idle speech,
And restless listening to programmed sounds;
Yet all the while I'm longing to retreat
Away from all distractions, to reground:
To keep the body, soul, and mind at peace,
To dive beneath the ocean's crashing waves,
To wake alone when all the world's asleep,
To still distracting thoughts and simply gaze.
In silence I am happy, one, and free;
In silence what becomes begins to be.
