60 Seconds for Time Out Tuesday: Keeping Quiet by Pablo Neruda.

<p>Coming to you from Whidbey Island, Washington this is 60 Seconds, your daily dose of hope, imagination, wisdom, stories, practical tips, and general riffing on this and that.</p><p><strong>KEEPING QUIET</strong></p><p>  by <a href="https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poets/pablo-neruda">Pablo Neruda</a></p><p><i>"Now we will count to twelve</i></p><p><i>and we will all keep still</i></p><p><i>for once on the face of the earth,</i></p><p><i>let’s not speak in any language;</i></p><p><i>let’s stop for a second,</i></p><p><i>and not move our arms so much.</i></p><p> </p><p><i>It would be an exotic moment</i></p><p><i>without rush, without engines;</i></p><p><i>we would all be together</i></p><p><i>in a sudden strangeness.</i></p><p> </p><p><i>Fishermen in the cold sea</i></p><p><i>would not harm whales</i></p><p><i>and the man gathering salt</i></p><p><i>would look at his hurt hands.</i></p><p> </p><p><i>Those who prepare green wars,</i></p><p><i>wars with gas, wars with fire,</i></p><p><i>victories with no survivors,</i></p><p><i>would put on clean clothes</i></p><p><i>and walk about with their brothers</i></p><p><i>in the shade, doing nothing.</i></p><p> </p><p><i>What I want should not be confused</i></p><p><i>with total inactivity.</i></p><p><i>Life is what it is about;</i></p><p><i>I want no truck with death.</i></p><p> </p><p><i>If we were not so single-minded</i></p><p><i>about keeping our lives moving,</i></p><p><i>and for once could do nothing,</i></p><p><i>perhaps a huge silence</i></p><p><i>might interrupt this sadness</i></p><p><i>of never understanding ourselves</i></p><p><i>and of threatening ourselves with death.</i></p><p> </p><p><i>Perhaps the earth can teach us</i></p><p><i>as when everything seems dead</i></p><p><i>and later proves to be alive.</i></p><p> </p><p><i>Now I’ll count up to twelve</i></p><p><i>and you keep quiet and I will go."</i></p><p> </p><p><i>This is the place to thrive together. Come for the stories - stay for the magic.  <strong>Speaking of magic, I hope you’ll subscribe, follo