The Roar of Silence

Poetry for Grief and the Places Language Fails

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Between Two Gravities

Most mornings, the sun rises in grayscale, weighted between two gravities. I fasten the mask again— it’s thin, too thin— hoping it veils what flickers beneath. I’m tired of being praised for holding it together— as though silence is sainthood, as though endurance is free. I wonder, if the colors I see are the same as yours. Is my red the burn of a star too near, my blue a trench that swallows light? Are both tethered by forces I can’t unlearn, by concepts I have no words for? You see a calm ocean; I see depths that devour the day. You feel warmth; I feel fevered stars pulling me close until my marrow softens. I live in an orbit that never finds its stillness— like the mask, tasting of salt, sweat dripping down my jaw. Some days I wonder: does the mask remember my face? Does my skin only know its weight without it?
Between that which demands I shine and the gravity that pulls me inward, I keep searching for a corridor where silence softens, where wings might hold— or at least fracture gently without burning, without breaking. I smile; gravity has chosen its pull, though each curve is a dialect I’ll never master. You can’t hear the fracture, the pull between quiet and shape. With colors I no longer trust, I brace for darkness behind a brittle smile. The hues are gone. Still, the sun will rise in grayscale. I cinch the mask tighter— it’s easier to let gravity speak than ask it to teach you its language of shadows.

When Daniel Stern lost his son unexpectedly, he was left with a silence too heavy for conversation. Words felt impossible—until poetry gave them shape. The Roar of Silence is a collection of 15 poems that give language to what cannot be easily spoken—truths that are often too fragile for everyday dialogue.

For those who have endured profound loss, love someone who is grieving, or have faced a life altered without warning, these poems offer reflection and companionship…they can help express emotions that feel tangled or unspeakable, attest to the disorientation of loss, and create space to feel without pressure to “move on.” In moments when language fails,

The Roar of Silence reminds readers they are not alone in the ache, the questions, or the enduring love that remains.
A Poem Guide with reflection questions is available for those who journal or would like to explore in conversation.

Access the Poem Guide

For Grief Professionals

The Roar of Silence walks beside clinicians and grief professionals in the silent terrain of loss. This collection can be used to support clients by validating, witnessing, and gently helping express difficult emotions and thoughts. These poems honor grief—by offering language, metaphor, and presence when words are out of reach.

Whether discussed in a group setting, explored in session, read at a service or given to a client to process, these poems touch on, and speak to, the lived experience of loss. Professionals and their clients can refer to a Poem Guide with insights and reflective questions from the author.

Access the Poem Guide

About the Author

Daniel Stern is a retired engineer turned astronomer and astrophotographer whose poetry explores grief, silence, memory, and renewal. His work lives at the intersection of science and emotion, where observation becomes reflection and language reaches for what cannot be measured. He is the author of Aphelion, his debut book of poetry, and the chapbook The Roar of Silence, a collection born from personal loss and the search for meaning in its wake. In his work as an astronomer, his astrophotography has been recognized numerous times by NASA (APOD), he has discovered planetary nebulae and, in collaboration with others, has been published in peer reviewed astrophysics journals. Stern lives in Delray Beach, Florida, with his wife, Randie.

Other books by Daniel Stern


Aphelion - A moving collection of poetry and astrophotography that explores loss, meaning, and the quiet distance between knowing and feeling.

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