Silence lies underneath us all in the same way
the Nile has a river underneath ten times as large
(although this is an urban legend, apparently).

So underneath truth or legend, flowing by
the feel of their own silence, move the stars:
silence lies underneath us all in the same way.

John Cage, I think, understood this: the way
that, in a silent room, one still hears the nerves
(although this is an urban legend, apparently),

or the heart, which I find more easily
believable: there simply is no way that, by and large,
silence lies underneath us all in the same way.

There must be different silences, because we
have different songs to drown them out, different gods
(although these are urban legends, apparently).

But is not all sound one sound? You and I
are two faces to the same head, the same body.
Silence lies underneath us all in the same way—
although this is an urban legend, apparently.

Silence lies underneath us all in the same way
the Nile has a river underneath ten times as large
(although this is an urban legend, apparently).

So underneath truth or legend, flowing by
the feel of their own silence, move the stars:
silence lies underneath us all in the same way.

John Cage, I think, understood this: the way
that, in a silent room, one still hears the nerves
(although this is an urban legend, apparently),

or the heart, which I find more easily
believable: there simply is no way that, by and large,
silence lies underneath us all in the same way.

There must be different silences, because we
have different songs to drown them out, different gods
(although these are urban legends, apparently).

But is not all sound one sound? You and I
are two faces to the same head, the same body.
Silence lies underneath us all in the same way—
although this is an urban legend, apparently.