Silence is a warm croissant
eaten at breakfast
while listening to the weather report
with three sugarless
cups of coffee
Silence takes its shower
the door wide open
walks stark naked in the kitchen
places its dirty dishes delicately
in the dishwasher
Silence takes the subway
to observe the other silences
going to the office
every day nine to five
to drown the regrets
of their unfulfilled desires
Silence crosses in canoe
over solitary lakes
hears black flies buzz
among sun-hot blueberries
under bell jar skies
Silence is a clandestine affair
in a suburban motel
a night slashed in two
a garter belt
deep inside an attaché case
Silence has red eyes
behind black sunglasses
a brother in prison
a mother who drinks too much
an absent father
Silence is a gambling debt
a tax fraud
a little, incontinent
old man
a body buried alive
a death by slow degrees
Silence has patchy, purple hair
lulls itself to sleep
through a shelterless night
wears a gold necklace
old shoes
Silence chews away
the great epics from eternity
leaving fairy tales writ large
on the columns of oblivion
Silence doesn’t say anything anymore
plumps down at noontime
before a ham sandwich
chokes on headlines
and blaring ads
Silence suddenly breaks up
over wild strawberry drapes
sings something a cappella
resounding to the rafters
of sunken cathedrals
Silence plays slow waltzes
on the piano
and sonatas carried off
by winds
that lift the heart
with longing
Silence reads its horoscope
every Saturday in
La Presse
does the crosswords
takes in the classifieds
and syndicated serials
translated from American
Silence is the underside of destiny
the silk lining
of a great love
that boldly unfurls
over years over days
Silence is at Daddy’s house
for the weekend
it will be back Sunday evening
after the movies
luggage under its arm
Silence is a camera eye
an encyclopedia left on a shelf
a deaf-mute
a sub-zero cold
Silence doesn’t have a word to say
has but one word to give
doesn’t mouth that word
silence consents
Louise Desjardins has published more than a dozen collections of poetry and five novels, including La Love (Grand Prix du Journal de Montréal, Prix des Arcades de Bologne). Les Silences (Èditions du Silence, 2008) was originally published as an illustrated chapbook. Born in Abitibi, Quebec, Desjardins now lives in Montreal.
Brian Campbell’s latest poetry collection is Passenger Flight (Signature Editions, 2009). His work has appeared previously in carte blanche, as well as in The New Quarterly, The Saranac Review and other journals. In 2006, he was short listed for the CBC Literary Award for Poetry. He lives in Montreal.