A man is alone in a room.
There is no one to talk to,
There is silence.
Even the sound of outside traffic

Or the hum of electricity
Does not eliminate the silence.
When there is no one to share your thoughts,
your feelings,
There is silence.
Silence is not the absence of sound,
It is the absence of companionship,
Of togetherness.
Silence can make you a prisoner
Put you into solitary,
There is no one else there.

A man and woman are in the same room
They sit at the same table
They look past each other
One sneaks looks at the other
One is uncomfortable
The other doesn’t notice it
There is silence.
They are not together
Although they once were.
The silence is deafening.
As time passes you begin to take quick, short breaths
That leave you breathless
Maybe you become angry, frustrated
As you wait for the silence to be broken.

The worst silence is the silence of loss,
The permanent absence of a loved one.
It is missing the sounds of that person,
Struggling to remember how that person sounded
That person who maybe meant everything to you.

A man and woman are together in a room
They are not talking.
There is quiet.
They are aware of each other.
They occasionally look at each other
They share each other’s company
They share the quiet
They communicate wordlessly
Through looks, through mental touches
Through smiles
Through their shared presence
Through their shared experience
Through their joining of memories.
They are comfortable
There is no silence
There is deep breathing and peaceful contemplation
They are in a good place.
There is quiet.