Still Life
Whisper if you speak,
Tiptoe if you walk.
Do not take a sudden breath
Or start to sing or talk.
The trees are listening,
The grass is still,
The frogs will not croak.
Speak if you will,
But the moment will falter,
And time will surprise,
Will muffle our moment
Before our eyes.
The frogs will hear you
And answer back;
The owls will hoot at
The hens in the shack.