He loses his words,
and the world grows small.
It falters as his tongue
stutters over incoherent
sounds. Reading no longer
works to maintain
his integrity; all melts
into air, and he cannot
breathe. He drops the book,
pages scatter across the floor.
All verbs fail him:
There’s nothing left to say.
He collapses into a gelatinous
mass: inarticulate and vague.
(March 10, 2017)
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