Poems by Patricia Petro

if you pause
to listen carefully
you can hear the silence in my house

fan blades whirl above
to ease the buttery warmth
of summer days gone wild

as ribbons of sunlight
stream in through glass
past trees beyond

in a world away
to play upon the polished floors
of golden oak

where footfalls of parties once held
laughter and words whispered by candlelight
somehow linger in the absolute stillness

the rooms lie dormant like me
in their patient wait
for human touch

silence assured
by wall-to-wall books meant to be read
and cushioned by a mind

where memories
echo on
soundlessly