Deeper Listening: Where Words Wash Away

What happens in the pause between a question and an answer?

This poem emerged from reflecting on the quiet threshold where we decide how much of ourselves we are willing to reveal, and what it means to listen beyond the words that are spoken. It is an exploration of trust, vulnerability, and the longing to be truly met, beneath the surface, where deeper forms of connection begin.

Transcript

Do you meet others on the surface or somewhere deeper? A short poem on the quiet spaces between us. Where words wash away. You ask a question and it lingers in the air between us. Silently holding the space as the sound waves reach my shores. Taking my time to answer each tick of the second hand burrowing downward. I search for a grain of truth amongst the sand dunes of my tender past. Questioning how much of myself I allow to cross the water's edge. Don't let my words stop you on the surface. Descend and meet me. Where words and worlds wash away. To the sound of a beating heart. I've been sitting with the space just before words are spoken. That moment where something is felt, But not yet given form. The place where a question arrives and we decide, Almost silently, How far it will be allowed to travel. This poem came from that threshold. Do you notice the moment you decide how much of yourself to reveal? Or do you only notice it after you've already crossed the water's edge? With warmth and gratitude.