Silent Night

When you get past the alleluias and the glorias, songs about the birth of Christ often convey the idea that our response should be one of silent contemplation: “Let All Mortal Flesh Keep Silence,” “My Soul in Stillness Waits,” and of course, “Silent Night.” Jeanette Hardage wrote two poems under the title “Silence,” in different styles. They explore different settings where silence may be sought—libraries, forests, and in the internal pursuit of God’s presence. The first was labeled “old” in her files and was never published, perhaps because she was forced to use somewhat stilted language to make it fit into the pattern of a sonnet. The second evokes the same images with far fewer words, and was the one she included in her Faith and Other Matters anthology. It shows how she began with an idea, then reworked the poem’s form until she was satisfied with it. Which version speaks to you the most?

Silence (first version)

Can silence e’er be known in great book halls
Where whispers surge and turning leaves abound?
The mind engrossed is circled round by walls
Unseen; communion with a theme is found.

Do trees and grass with satisfaction feel
The breezes fill their ears with whispers smooth?
“Sweet silence,” they do murmur, and reveal
A quietness, apart from sound, to soothe.

What soul on earth can silent sounds abide?
The thoughts weigh heavy, pressing out the breath.
A soul at peace with God a need to hide
Knows not–quiet alike, in life or death.

Though sounds discordant ever present be,
A man may silence know by soul’s decree.

Silence (rewritten)

Exposed: Tall trees
                soft breezes
                fill the air
                with murmurs
                                Silence?

Enclosed: Book halls
                turning leaves,
                the ebb and flow
                of whispers
                                Silence?

Essence: My core
                seek only God
                amid life’s din
                for quietness
                                Silence.

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