Poetry and art by Robbie Down

Now I steal away to the wood
To quiet myself
And listen

I can’t help my alert and busy mind
Painting every moment just past
Dancing and dizzying

Light cascades down through branch and leaf, pooling onto the ground

I open intently my heart’s ear
Listening for a God hid beneath
The white noise of each day

How young I am in the school of silence
Though in waiting I just might hear

A simple voice

Not a loud, strong, boisterous bellow
Nor a soft, hushed, or quiet cry

Just a luring of the soul
To breathe, slow, listen, and know