shhhh.... silence

.." the great silence behind speech ,
 the ways in which all language acts
emerge from and return 
to silence that is full,
not empty,
and persists in creative tension
with the breeches of utterance. 
The language of prayer , 
in particular, 
enters into this silence 
as into a sacred space ,
seeking not to break the silence."

Caring for Word in a Culture of Lies by Marilyn Chandler McEntyre

( almost done reading this excellent book with my students)