Only the Unbearable Silence Travels Here by Martin Willitts Jr.

Thousands of wildflowers have come

and gone, taking their colors with them.

A small thing, this untraceable silence,

allowing me to notice

what cannot be seen:

near the water-lined beech trees,

some pale purple-blue spring flowers

of the common hepatica,

emerge from rootstalks under leaves;

they only open a week or two —

such a narrow window of time.

They are already bending without wind,

timing to open at the onset of night,

listening for the movement of water

and light.

Martin Willitts Jr is a retired Librarian. He has over 20 chapbooks, plus 15 full-length collections  His most recent chapbook is "You Enter, and It All Falls Apart" (Flutter Press, 2019).