to shatter the quiet

there are sounds
which shatter
the staleness of lives
transporting the shadows
into the dreams

raindrops falling
on leaves shatter
the dust of the city
as soap washed off
bodies shatters
the complacent dirt

she waited for him
to take away that quiet

she waited for his call
with the patience of a slave
woman quilting or a jewish mother
simmering chicken broth

there would be no other
sound than his voice
to shatter the quiet
of her heart

she waited for him
to come
[Nikki Giovanni, 'Patience', from The Collected Poetry of Nikki Giovanni, 1968-1998]