Silence

Do you know how many voices silence has?

There's the silence of the night, dark and complete

Always carrying with it a slight dread of things that could go wrong.

The fear that something will happen while exhausted eyes are closed.

Then there's the silence before the storm.

The gulping of a child's breath before he lets out a scream of pain.

The sound so much worse because of the moment's silence that came before it.

The silence of tears rolling down a mother's face

Scared to make a noise lest a hard won nap is disturbed.

The silence also of tears pooling in a father's eyes, unused to being spilled; gathering and making a return journey.

The silence punctuated by the hissing of tubes, as they pump air into tiny lungs.

The silence of the colorful monitors, forced to beep only if something is amiss.

The silence of the hospital corridors, where even shoes seem to have lost their ability to squeak.

The silence of hundreds of people, sitting in a daze while their loved ones fight battles they cannot be a part of.

The silence of the mind, weary and exhausted, too tired to think thoughts, happy or sad.

The silence of the heart, forced into muteness by the horrors of the past month.

The silence behind the doctors masks as they probe and evaluate and come to conclusions.

The silent sympathy of the nurses as they wave hello to you on yet another day.

The silence of the cafeteria guy, who no longer asks you for updates.

The silence of the guards, who let you pass, no longer wondering where you are headed.

The silent swish of the page of a calender, as the month changes from June to July.

The silence of a video call, because knowing and seeing are two different things.

And the silence which is the worst of all these, which reaches out and hits you like a punch.

It's the silence of the questions in your child's eyes, who wonders why there's pain despite you being around.