With words as walls to define,
Where we stand’s unstable;
Language’s grappling hooks
Lift us to destroy.
I’m no more than a tale
Told to reinforce a whole.
In silence, and because of silence,
Fragments foster resentment
Like flowers tossed on the floor.
Small talk’s leathery skin
Slips around us like a sheath,
Protecting against discourses’
Dangers: the traps, the unlacings,
Coy revelations, and truth’s
Sudden inexplicable violence.
(May 17, 2017)
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