In this Silence

To her the silence had been in itself a prayer,
the deepest, the holiest, the most illuminating.
T. F. Powys: Mister Tasker’s Gods

its utter depth and width
can only leave one standing
on this canyon’s rim
entirely without speech

its walls stacked so high
with their blendings of colours
could only have been stilled
after ages of momentous histories

and the river’s roar coursing
its floor can do nothing but be lost
in the sheer vastness of its void –
and from this height that river
seems to be not moving

yet there is a presence here
moving and unseen –
untouchable maybe
but adamant in its feeling

and, if anywhere,
this is where one’s unspoken words
if listened for will be heard