Silence

by Teodora Taneva

Translated from the Bulgarian by Elitza Kotzeva

They remain silent
for they don’t want to share a common language
with their enemies.
They remain silent in their thoughts, silent with their eyes, their hands, their souls,
they even breathe silently, like flowers,
for when they watch what people do
even only briefly they want to forget they’re people too.
They remain silent in their prayer
for all words are worn out, filthy, false.
God, too, remains silent and this silence echoes
in the endless caves
gaping empty holes where hearts used to beat.

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Artwork by Vania Valkova
This poem was first published in Bulgarian by The New Social Poetry. You can read their manifesto here.