I didn't understand

why

she draped her head with cloth

& became silent

while she paced across the floor

day after day

with little interest in food

or fresh air or people.

But then it came to me 

in a flash--

of course--

I saw it clear as daybreak,

she was excavating,

deep within her heart & soul,

turning over old wounds,

digging new pathways to healing.

I bowed deeply,

I honored her journey,

I respected her silence,

I entered my own deep

silence of prayer.