Silence is a prose poem - no rhyme, no meter. The style is fragmentary/telegraphic. The poem never states the feeling outright. The reader reads the fragments and decides on feelings and what is happening.
Here the red text shows how I would read and interpret the poem. After working through my reading, go back and read the poem again and see how you would work through the poem.
Freezing rain pinging the windows. Sheets soaked. Triage.
It's cold outside. It is probably cold in the room.
The soaked sheets -- not rain, sweat -- woke the person. Nightmares will cause soaked sheets.
This isn't the triage I perform on my inbox. This is real triage, deciding who can be saved and who will be left to die. This type of dreaming is frightening and can destroy the person,
Enough, Colonel. Shower, shave.
He's talking to himself — he is the Colonel. "Enough — stop the dream. Shower, shave." Simple things the body can do without thinking, and they ground him in the present.
Downstairs to the pit. Fire lit, books stacked.
Morning routine. Calming. He has settled down. In the pit, it feels like a private library or study in an 1800s estate. A refuge from the challenges of the day for the master.
Coffee or tea?
Rooibos.
A warm drink to chase away the chill. Coffee has caffeine and is thought to give a physical lift. Rooibos is a tea without caffeine. It warms the hands and soothes.
Unlock the front door.
He is done with his morning routine and is ready to receive whoever — in any shape — walks through the door.
The Shining. No.
The Martian. Yes.
Sit. Read.
Passes over The Shining — a mind coming apart in isolation, too close to the night he just climbed out of. He picks The Martian instead: a man stranded, alone, staying alive by solving one problem at a time — the next small task, then the next. That's exactly what this morning has been. One deliberate act after another against the dark. Choosing the book is how he says it to himself- the words he needs to hear: I made it through. I'm going to make it.
The door cracks open.
"Are you open?"
"Yes."
"Can I come in?"
"Hang your coat, Captain."
An analogy. Question one: You can check whether the restaurant is open. Question two: Is there anything I can eat? This may be NO, as you could be a celiac and deathly allergic to wheat. The door cracks open as the person makes a heroic effort just to check if the place is open. The second question is really: will you accept me? By skipping 'yes' and giving directions, the Colonel treats him as already accepted — already home. Calling him "Captain" shows the Colonel recognizes a fellow soldier — a gesture of welcome between men who've served.
"I need to eat."
"The kitchen is open. Fix what you like."
"What will I owe?"
“Captain, the kitchen is on your left. Fix what you like."
The coffee perks. The refrigerator door shuts.
The "I need to eat" states that the Captain needs something to replenish himself. The line "The kitchen is open. Fix what you like." is somewhat ambiguous. Do I fix the food and then pay for it, or do I fix the food and it is free? The Captain has been burned. He is not sure. So the question is, "What will I owe?" The Colonel has seen people burned this way before and issues a command clearly stating that he is to fix what he needs and there will be no charges or paybacks. The "kitchen is on your left" is a slight push to get the Captain moving. The line "The coffee perks..." confirms the Captain understands the command and is obeying.
t
Selects Project Hail Mary.
Ready to sit down, the Captain selects Project Hail Mary. The hero in the book does not see himself as brave. It is a debt to those who did not make it. The hero wins the same way the hero of The Martian won -- one problem at a time. Through their choices in The Martian and Project Hail Mary, we see that the Colonel and the Captain are the same kind of hero. Not seeing themselves as brave; rather, seeing that they are fulfilling an obligation.
Turns the chair to face the door.
The Captain is a soldier. He would never put his back to a possible attack. What I find interesting is that the Colonel does not object even though this is a refuge. He understands the action. He'd do the same. He never asks a man to lower a guard he still keeps himself.
Pages turn.
The coffee grows cold.
On the surface, this shows the passage of time. The cold coffee? The Captain didn't really need to eat food. He needed to know it was possible to win — and that's what the reading gave him.
Chair returned.
The chair goes back. He erases himself from the room—the soldier's habit—leaving no trace where he can—taking nothing, leaving nothing.
"I have obligations."
The Captain tells the Colonel he understands his obligations—debts he has to pay—and will leave to fulfill them. "Obligations" is a Captain's word: rank and duty in one. Underneath, it says he's ready — he has reasons to go on, and he's going.
"I'll bookmark your place."
This is the Colonel talking. He is saying you are always welcome here; we will be ready to help. And you will win one battle at a time.
The hook is bare.
The Captain has left to fulfill his obligations. Will he come back? No one knows. The Colonel will be waiting.