Poetry
Select verse from an upcoming book of poetry by Ted Onulak.
Silence
As silent as flowers in a vase
Taking quiet sips of water
Wordlessly counting their last remaining days
Silent as the sunbeams
That glide noiselessly through the window
Escaping the cold white world
To kiss the bloom of spring
Prophesied for a distant tomorrow
The empty house stands mute
Devoid of tears and laughter
All voices have been stilled
Only a spider
Spins her web
Wordlessly working
For purposes obscure
Perhaps only just to pass the time
No telephone rings to trouble the dust
In the latest vacant house
Where the trash men were the last to wave goodbye
The stillness is disturbed
By a creeping car
With tattered seats and muddy tires
Enclosing the well-worn couple within
They look at the clapboards wistfully
Choosing not to speak
Inside the flowers softly tremble
The spider loses a stitch
Some fleeting cloud
Of a former life
Has disturbed the empty peace
The ignition sparks the engine
And the car grinds into reverse
Gravel pops against the metal
And life motors on
Somewhere hope lies sleeping
And walks softly as a spider on its web
Or waits beneath the earth like a flower
But at this moment
There is only silence