knocks
at your door
do you let it in
to take a seat
telling it to wipe its feet
or do you leave it outside
in the cold rain

When silence
bowls
you over
do you scream in its face
and chase it as a child
running with a net to catch
a butterfly
or do you leave it there
to die

When silence
bites
your tongue
do you swallow the blood
of a million things
that flood your head
or lay it out
as the quilt
on your grandma's bed