Noisy Silence

 

 

I came to the woods seeking     

quiet,

gentle moments of insight,

the meaning of a bird.

Instead I found clamor,

relentless chatter and clanging:

self-doubt,

fear,

          refrains of the past,

dark imaginings.

Am I a hopeless kind of monk,

or do all those brethren

live with it, too?