Have you ever known silence?
Where even the mind stops to listen,
No pollution by intrusions
Nay saying finger-wagging doubts,
Not one person waiting in line at the bullet train
That connects from passive to aggressive
Just the still staggering quiet.

Have you ever known peace?
Where should decompress,
No longer cosplaying atlas
Holding the weight of all that burdens
While taking the cleanest breaths
Deep and revitalizing oxygen satiating the blood,
While the face feels pain from finally-
Letting go of squinted vision, furled brows
And forced smiles.
Where it’s just the calm settling in nerves,
It’s almost too fantastical - surely a myth
But obtainable.

Have you ever known love?
Not the placated give and take,
Not the candy-covered lust under the covers
Not even the giddy resplendence when seeing that movie
Or hearing that tune, I’m talking love.
That heart-crushing,
Would go on a crusade to defend,
Sword-wielding and Fourth of July firework love-making
That daring to dare to dare to be better
That salve to cure wounds once thought fatal
Mortally immortalized in the space of a single kiss
Have you ever known that love?

All of life’s greatest gifts,
We overlook the material,
And it kills us all, it’s rather serial
We can’t spell it out in the cereal
But it’s there if you search beyond,
And break the mold.

Room temp black tea,
Jingling house keys,
Little whispers of morning trees.

Quaint feeling of tranquility,
Walking among the preserved fall leaves,
A small nip of chill in the breeze.

In this life, I have had my struggles—
Mankind’s abuse, intolerance, wars, and corruption.
And no different were the personal aspects:
love, home, happiness—
All fleeting, no peace, within or external.

Then, I found you.

At first, I sought tranquility—
An ear to bend, a friendship perhaps.
Yet, you needed serenity, a peace within.
So, it was I who lent the ear, the shoulder, the words of understanding.

In this endeavor, I saw in you a trampled blossom—
Damaged, bent, a bit broken, but not a loss.
You just needed someone, anyone, to care,
To show you the light through the dark.

So, I listened, I nurtured,
Shown light, provided warmth,
Fed you, and caressed the soil with tears,
Until you felt whole again.

To be clear, I didn’t fix you;
I didn’t mold you.
You were whole, you were full of worth.
I only let you see what I see in you.

In turn, you saw me, as I saw you—
Someone discarded on the refuse of life.
Imparted, nay, reciprocated, the kindness you had received,
Knowing that I, like you, lay scarred and injured, but not a loss.

Tranquility and Serenity—
Words often interchanged,
But both have meanings that aren’t quite the same.
For one is peace in your surroundings, and the other is peace from within.

You cannot seek one
Without discovering and embracing the other.
Two sides of the same coin, like Yin and Yang,
Always seeking balance.

You guided me,
Lighting my way through the darkest moments.
I held steadfast, unwavering—the rock you needed,
A new foundation to build upon.

I confess this truth to you,
As you have given both, reciprocal,
As I have given unto you.

Time will tell.
This story has not ended.
It is still being written—
A journey to destinations unknown.

And all because,
I FOUND YOU.

Through soft static,
the silence hums,  
as a steady tide,
where chaos succumbs  
and white noise swaddles us
in its soothing embrace
drowning out the clamour,
creating tranquil space,
tuning into the comforting drone,
as peaceful slumber finally comes.

©️Lizzie Bevis

In the stillness of time,
is where I tend to live,
Tranquility and peace,
is what calmness will give.

Everything is at a halt,
and is frozen in time,
a time to decompress and
to just to unwind.

To live in this state,
will be so divine, happiness
for those few moments,
will feel just fine.

I wish that I could stay,
in this frame of reposed mind,
just to dwell for a lifetime,
Frozen in this time.


B.R.
Date: 10/18/2024