silence not absence

The technology of silence
The rituals, etiquette

the blurring of terms
silence not absence

of words or music or even
raw sounds

Silence can be a plan
rigorously executed

the blueprint to a life

It is a presence
it has a history    a form

Do not confuse it
with any kind of absence

-- Adrienne Rich, from "Cartographies of Silence"

Adrienne Rich