A right is granted

Directed to be announced

To the suspected or accused

To remain silent

But none such is assured

To have silence

No, not that

To be free of noise

The rule is relentless assault

On TV, they must talk on and on

City traffic a constant drone

And what is it to sit quietly

With a loved one and let

Eyes, touch, presence speak

What words can never capture?

So, what silence you can find

Whatever of it you create

That is yours alone to tend,

Guard, and hold close.

Photo by Boba Jovanovic on Unsplash

Bob Wertzler is retired from almost twenty years in the mental health field in California and Arizona. There are times the title, “Recovering Therapist”, seems to fit. In 2006 he retired to move to Western North Carolina to help and become primary care giver for his father who had developed Dementia. Before all that, there was work at various times as a soldier (US Army 1967-70), community organizer, cab driver, welfare case worker, wooden toy maker, carpenter, warehouse worker, and other things. He relates to a line in a Grateful Dead song, “What a long, strange trip its been.”