The Noise (a poem)

We fill
our spaces,
our minds,
our lives
with Noise;
everywhere,
all the time.

Even our
time alone
has become
Noise.
Even our
relationships
have become
Noise.
Even our
worship
has become
Noise.

We claim
to enjoy
it.
“It makes
me happy,”
we say.
“It fills
me with joy,”
we claim.
“It gives
me a distraction,”
we declare.

And indeed
it does.

The Noise
distracts us
from the depth
found in
one another,
ourselves,
the divine.

The depth
is what
frightens us
most.
So we fill it
with
Noise.
Until
all that remains
is the shallows.

Yet,
it is in the depths
we discover
life.
It is in the depths
we find
beauty.
It is in the depths
we realize
us.

It is time
we find
the courage
to silence
the Noise.
  — bshivers