This poem, also from On This Sweet Earth, takes the relationship between nature and silence further. But the poetic desert is more than the landscape--spiritually, the desert can be an inner state of barrenness, when we doubt, are world weary and spiritually dry. Perhaps that is our path to a deeper realization. The link below the poem carries the thought further, with a reminder: The stillness of nature is the stillness within us. The peace that it offers is discovered through a simple daily practice. (Susan Nettleton)
"Silence in the Desert" by Larry Morris
I hear someone hammering in the distance
and think of the spiritual life that has chipped away
at me all these long years.
Does the desert have a soul or
is it just sun and sky,
hardly any movement
and so much silence.
So quiet even the bird
is reluctant to speak.
Do we hear God in that silence
or just ourselves.
Who is it that speaks when we listen.
Do we go to the desert to find God or
does God lead us to the desert
to find ourselves?
Follow the link to more by Larry Morris at
https://hillsidesource.com/daily-thoughts/2018/3/22/stillness