Silence – A Double Triolet
In our world today it seems that there is constant sound. We have such a hard time being silent and just sitting quietly in the presence of God. Even a moment of silence and we seem compelled to fill it up with some type of noise. You can hear it in many public speakers who fill every moment of their presentation with “ums” and “aahs” rather than pause for even a few seconds to think about what they will say next. You can see it in our young people who walk around with headphones in their ears listening to something, anything, from their iPods rather than listen to silence.
But silence truly is, as the saying goes, golden. It is not something to be feared, avoided, or filled with noise. Silence is heavenly and divine.
Silence
There is a time for everything under heaven
A time to be silent and a time to speak
As a sheep being sheared is silent, Jesus remained silent
There is a time for everything under heaven
He was oppressed and afflicted, crushed for our iniquity
Yet he did not open his mouth, Jesus gave no answer
There is a time for everything under heaven
A time to be silent and a time to speak
There was silence in heaven for about half an hour
When the Lamb of God opened the seventh seal
As incense and prayers of the saints rose to the Lord
There was silence in heaven for about half an hour
The LORD is in his holy temple; let all the earth be silent
Be silent, for the day of the Sovereign LORD is near
There was silence in heaven for about half an hour
When the Lamb of God opened the seventh seal
Note: This double triolet is also a “found” poem as it all comes from God’s Word. The verse that inspired this poem is Revelation 8:1 – “When he opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven for about half an hour.” It occurred to me that if heaven can remain silent for half an hour, perhaps silence truly is a good thing.
I also wrote this poem for Open Link Night at dVerse Poets Pub. Find a quiet place and check out the other poems offered there.
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I love silence too and I loved your poem.
‘Worthy is the Lamb that was slaughtered
to receive power and wealth and wisdom and might
and honour and glory and blessing!”
Revelation 8:1… an interesting place to start for your stunning double triolet. The clarity of your words and phrasing makes me wonder why this book is such a scary place… so much information, and yet, so much peace.
Linda, I love Revelation. It’s where one finds Jesus saying, “Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and will dine with him, and he with Me.” Although there’s a lot that’s hard to understand in Revelation, there is so much beauty and peace. 🙂 Peace, Linda
A double triolet! That’s an interesting structure, and so well suited to the theme, because the feeling evoked by the repetition is that of an invocation, a prayer, a psalm.
Thanks! I truly love the triolet form. I actually started writing this as two separate poems with the first being written second, but then when I re-read it seemed it needed to go in the other order. I just love poetry! 🙂 Peace, Linda
Fabulous poem!
Just this morning, I waited in silence, just a bit longer, and He spoke to me in it! Loved this double triolet . . .and a found poem! Wow . . .you keep upping the bar, Linda! God bless you and your times of golden silence!
Deb, When you’re writing for the best Savior in the world, only the best will do. And still it never seems quite good enough for me. I’m so glad Jesus looks at our intentions and desire to know Him in our heart instead of what we actually accomplish. 🙂 Peace, Linda
Silence – I think sometimes we all need a moment of silence to reflect on life as our daily lives are so hectic.
Linda- I’m happily sitting in silence after a day on a field trip with 10 and 11 year-old kids… ahhh. I think the form really accents this piece. Love it!
Laurie, There’s nothing like a bunch of pre-teen kids to make one realize the beauty of silence. Enjoy your quiet time. Peace, Linda
I admit, I am one of those young people with headphones on, but I agree with the premise of this poem. Silence is such a profound sound, one that should be cherished.
Alex, My son was actually the inspiration for that particular comment. He even admits he has his headphone in too much, sometimes without even having his iPod turned on. And I must confess that I listen to music as I get ready for work and while I’m driving to work. But I do know that when I take the time to sit in silence, that is when I am most likely to hear God speak. Peace, Linda
I love this. A friend of mine once told me that you can’t learn anything new when you are speaking–silence is required to listen–Lovely piece!
beautiful write… I’m definitely guilty of having headphones on most of the day… wearing some right now to be honest. *cough cough*
nice…i like how you took that verse and made it here…silence i think is def something that is missing in our lives in many ways…i will add though we have to be careful giving noice a bad name because i think god can be found there too…joyful noise…smiles.
Brian, Noise can definitely be a good thing, I agree. It took a few trumpet blasts for the walls of Jericho to fall. 🙂 Peace, Linda
silence is something precious for sure in a loud world…sometimes i just sit in the dark, listening to my own heartbeat and the silence…and it’s so good…
Beautiful, Linda