Silent Was the Mightiest Sound

She drove in the morning in  
veil-like fogs, hair whipped in

a stream of windows, cracked. Like
slick, black snakes, her leather

skin faced days, days, and yet
more days, with a cigarette lit so

her red embers glow in the dimness.
A puff from her nostrils, another

from her lips, her trembling hands
subside on the wheel, save for two

fingers with a smoke-stick stuck
between them.  It wasn't the hum

of the engine, or the rasp in her
breath.  No, it was her silence

that taught us mostly, ours and
hers alike. When days, days, and

more days passed, silent was her
sound, and it was the mightiest

sound of them all.
Copyright © | Year Posted 2011

Poem

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Nguyen Avatar
July 20, 2012 at 9:02 PM
Flawless, except for the misspelling in line 14 where you use the verb "breathe" instead of the noun "breath," your intended meaning, I believe.--Ngoc
Guzzi Avatar
July 20, 2012 at 10:35 AM
So true what fear there can be in silence. Congrad's on your fine write making it through to round one in an international poetry contest. Light & Love
Brown Avatar
July 18, 2012 at 9:13 AM
Congratulations on your poem making it through round one of the PoetrySoup International Poetry Contest. I wish you the best in the finals Chad. Love, Carol
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