a poem.

Fishing in the Keep of Silence

There is a hush now while the hills rise up

and God is going to sleep He trusts the ship

of Heaven to take over and proceed beautifully

as He lies dreaming in the lap of the world.

He knows the owls will guard the sweetness

of the soul in their massive keep of silence,

looking out with eyes open or closed over

the length of Tomales Bay that the herons

conform to, whitely broad in flight, white

and slim in standing. God, who thinks about

poetry all the time, breathes happily as He

repeats to Himself: There are fish in the net,

lots of fish this time in the net of the heart.

-Linda Gregg