word games | ||
for Elizabeth Bishop (1911-1979) | ||
my poet is lost in her thoughts again | ||
I laugh at her | ||
when she | ||
does that - | ||
It's just words! | ||
she admonishes me, | ||
tells me words make us human | ||
something about | ||
civilization | ||
conveying its memories | ||
to new generations - | ||
She's a long-winded thing! | ||
I think of the words as her LEGO® blocks, | ||
her syllable puzzles, her face | ||
squanched up as she makes them all fit - | ||
the old woman's toys. | ||
Oops, stop! | ||
a word's come up missing! | ||
don't move your feet! | ||
And where | ||
did you put that thesaurus? | ||
© Jon Bohrn (1999) |