A Poem by Sandeep Varry

Below is a poem written by Sandeep Varry, a student from the Everglades Wilderness Writing Expedition. Before this expedition Sandeep had never been in true wilderness before. The Wilderness has left a lasting impression on him that no doubt will stay with him forever.

Silence

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I like the silence,
when people are not walking around
making waves, disturbing something ancient
with every single footprint,
prints that may not be left behind,
will not be left behind.

Did I tell you I like the silence?
Did I tell you how I feel?
please, tell me,
How should I feel?

I have no instructions,
just directions to enter, the directions that
the floating leaves around me don't follow,
and no one asks them what they have seen,
how far they have travelled,
how far do they have to go.

I like their silence.
I like the reflection that is falling on my book,
light entering through trees
that are doing their best to block the sun.

As my pen glides on the pearly white pages,
with every stroke of my hand,
I am starting to forget what was left behind,
but instead, I wonder what will I leave behind,
and what would have been here, where I stand,
where I see the fallen woods, fallen,
which remind me that one day I too will fall,
I too will join and become a part of
something, something that was present before me,
and something, that will surely be present, after.

silence,
created by the resistance,
the reluctance
of this loquacious wilderness that surrounds me,
it refuses to speak,
just silently observes,
it too, like me,
loves the sound of nothing,
or rather,
the willful silence of everything.