You were leaning against the door frame,
saying nothing.
Which was your answer to my question about
permanence.

I knew what that meant

My father was standing on the back porch in the rain
Smoking his cheap cigars
And not speaking at all,
which was his response to my questions about lab results
I knew what that meant, also.

Years of talking to people who don't talk
Can teach you quite a bit
If you can listen to the quiet, in the right way

I was chatting with the ceiling this morning,
Listening to snowplows-outside
with the whirl of the furnace-inside

I asked it if perhaps I need to move to a warmer place, but
it just stared back at me.

  I am going to take that as a yes.