When Silence Blooms by Martin Willitts Jr.

There are quiet days,
when Emily Dickinson wrote
on scraps of found paper in her delicate cursive,

her pen was soundless with wonder,
her white sleeves wavering with her music,
hesitating only for the right word.

There are days when asters dream —
white bloom whispers, into long dashes —
the quiet hides inside the center.

The secret tentative voice
sews Emily’s poems into booklets,
messages given in the silence.

She keeps tuning the fretwork her heart,
the act of surrender
and it’s bright, sweet-tasting acceptance.

Martin Willitts Jr has 21 full-length collections including the Blue Light Award 2019, “The Temporary World”. His recent books are “Harvest Time” (Deerbrook Editions, 2021), “All Wars Are the Same War” (FutureCycle Press, 2022). His forthcoming book is “Not Only the Extraordinary are Exiting the Dream World (Flowstone Press, 2022).