How Sound is Silence?--By David J. Kelly--Ireland

How Sound is Silence?

If less is more and worlds abhor
a crushing, narcissistic bore,
perhaps I should relent from speech,
make all replies one gesture each,
keep dictionaries out of reach
and listen to more music.

But critics, though it sounds absurd,
would hang on each unspoken word -
my silent voice would be transferred
across the global ether.

Oh Heavens!
What a tangled mess!
I wish that more were really less.
Then I’d adopt loquaciousness
and suffer the dilution

David J. Kelly is an animal ecologist based in Dublin, Ireland. While his day job revolves around science writing, his light poetry and Japanese verse forms (haiku, tanka, haibun and haiga) have been published in a number of journals and anthologies. He aspires to publish a book of poetry one day, when he has enough suitable material. David is a member of The British Haiku Society and Haiku Ireland.