Café Quiet

 A flock of humming birds
sat quietly in a tree
that stood silently outside the window

And a few of the regulars
and one or two others
spoke in low voices
or said nothing at all
while they enjoyed their cookies and tea
at Café Quiet

 ♫ ♫ ♫

 A pack of Israelis
came pouring through the door,
oblivious to everyone
and everything else
around them

 All of the birds flew away,
the cat hid under a sofa
and the dog began to howl

 Even the monkeys
that had been hanging out at the temple across the street
decided go on a run through the town

 ♫ ♫ ♫

 Good afternoon
I would like to invite you
to enjoy the silence
It’s the specialty of the house,
said the owner
after the chosen people
had selected a table
and settled down
and begun to try and order
everyone around

 Perhaps you haven’t noticed,
but since you arrived
the rest of us haven’t been able to hear
the silence
that we have come to love

 The chosen people looked
as though they could not understand
why anyone would object
to their babel and hullabaloo

 If you must talk,
would you please do so quietly?

 Rather than apologize
and quiet down,
they all got up and left,
leaving a trail of invective behind

 ♫ ♫ ♫

 Perhaps they are afraid
of silence

 Or perhaps they simply know
no other way
to be

 I think they’re just rude in general

 Yeah

 They think they’re tough,
but they have no idea
what it means
to be really tough

 Yeah

 I bet they couldn’t complete
a Goenka course

 Yeah,
ten days of silence

 And the silence was the easy part

 Yeah

 The regulars and the other lovers
of silence
then returned
to their peace and quiet

 ♫ ♫ ♫