Mary Dorcey, 'After Long Silence'

[tea_drinker77]

We regard each other
awkwardly, speechless
we who have so much
to unsay
to forget or at least forgive

And then
in unconscious diplomacy,
with that old grace
that so often came
between you and your consequences

You stretch your hand
to mine
and some ember of the me
that I was to you,
rekindles
and and in silence,
recovers the power
of speech.

Mary Dorcey

From Kindling (1982)