A poem is the space between words,

the paring down of conversation and story

eliminating here and trimming there

doing away with the unimportant

leaving the richest cream, what’s beautiful or best

from the ebb and flow of words

~~~~

Yet sometimes the poem is the silence,

the things not uttered aloud

but glances and nods between friends

or a beloved’s devoted embrace

more meaningful because they’re unspoken

like the coolness in the breeze at the end of a day

of sun and waves and smiles

~~~~

Heather Pound 2022