Today I went to a church
For a funeral and
I noticed two women
Signing to each other
In the total dead quiet
(appropriate for a funeral,
I suppose) and I thought
That they could speak with
Their hands without breaking
The silence.
And I thought back to when
I asked my daughter
Why young people preferred
Texts instead of calls
And she said, “We think it
Rude to interrupt anything
With a call. Texts are nowhere
Near as disruptive.”
Sitting in that quiet,
I thought that signing is
Better than texting, even,
Because with texting,
Buzzers sound, however
Quietly, but signers
Exchange thoughts,
Meanings and ideas
In the silence, in the
Lively
Silence.
Dan Verner
April 22, 2017
Biscuit City 