Circle of Silence

unlike some cultures

we have a word for everything

we never know when to stop

to shut our endlessly moving

mouths and mandibles

unlike some cultures

our circle is meant only

for wheels, for work, for worry

unlike some cultures

silence to us is ice

nice only for a moment

then uncomfortable.

then painful. then scary

unlike some cultures

we will fall silent forever

unless we learn

without worry of words 

to sit in a circle