The gaps in silence

It's in the silence that the world breathes out.

The silent slip of your hand into mine,

The first blink of a newborn's eyes,

The last labored step across the finish line -

The culmination of labors won lives in the silences.

It's in the still pauses between heartbeats that we love.

The shared glance across a crowded room of two new lovers,

The cold rush of adrenaline when she says "yes" to him,

The baby's first wobbly step -

The warmth of the world happens in the quiet.

It's in the gaps between moments that we think.

The faraway gaze of a mind deep in creation,

The driver's instinctive brake to save a child in the street,

The shift from still to a lifeguard's leap -

The movement in the world is borne from its pauses.

It's in the moment between two waves crashing that we breathe in.

The step from one foot to the next down the aisle,

The last step off of one shore onto another,

The final exhale of a man's long life -

The sounds of life are shaped by its silences.