you find
your words are fire
without flint or wind
but with fury & shrill of the night
how your words growl
at the touch of another’s urge
making your skin itch, surfacing nose
you find
your words are water
to the curious brow & sweet lips
striking a cadence undeniably yours like a
forgotten heartbeat
your words have colors
unfactored: still-born moon, tender-lit sky, dark-grit storm
shading your heart, now spilling your guts
you find
though you can make words
disappear quickly
as summer fireflies
how they slice you open
blue & shaken
vulnerable as a root-
Beautifully expressed, Grace. Love the many facets of words that you have brought out in this poem.
ReplyDeletewow! wow !
ReplyDeleteThank you Ashok ~
DeleteI love the comparison of words to fire and water. You have made excellent use of the words, Grace.
ReplyDeleteThe word list from M was compelling & challenging ~ Thank you Kerry ~
DeleteBeautiful words in yet another lovely post Heaven, sometimes it's difficult to find the right words but you make it seem so easy.
ReplyDeleteThank you Matthew ~
Deleteouch....words can be like water flowing, bringing comfort to the thirsty and hot...or a grenade that blows limbs off....that is for sure....
ReplyDeletepopping in quick there is a water slide waiting for me...smiles.
Thanks for the visit Brian ~ Enjoy your summer with you children ~
DeleteWords can sure be colorful when out they spill
ReplyDeleteThank you Pat ~
DeleteOh Heaven - I'm touched by your title - it made me smile.
ReplyDeleteI read your write aloud four times- the cadence rhythmic and compelling, the pace and sounds serving to underscore the actual words. You effectively employed parallel structure - You find - and then cascades of vivid images in each verse, self-contained but also additive to the others - they reminded me of multiple strands in a single rope, supporting and strengthening the overall tone. And then the final twisting stanza, each line like a hairpin - with that astonishing final line - vulnerable as a root.
Thank you for this. You write beautifully. ~ M
Oh M, thanks for resurfacing and visiting my blog ~ Can I say I am missing your words & comments, smiles ~
DeleteYour process & thoughts on writing guided me when I wrote this ~ And I love your post, how come you disabled your comments...where can I write how beautiful it is ~ Don't forget to come up for air from your hiatus, okay ~
I reactivated my blog so older posts can be read. There are a couple posts since last week, but I will likely not be contributing much to the prompts and links for a bit.
DeleteThank you for your support - it's easy to lose sight that my little contributions on occasion fall on willing ears. I appreciate your kindness very much. ~ M
So pith-perfection. Each word a raindrop. Cadence undeniably yours like a forgotten heartbeat.
ReplyDeleteThank you & nice to meet you ~
DeleteYou made these words sing, kiddo. And so brilliantly!
ReplyDeleteThank you Sherry ~
Deleteshrill of the night.... is no time for fight....
ReplyDeleteMaybe ~ Thanks Dezzy ~
Deletenice-- i love "summer fireflies/how they slice you open"
ReplyDeleteThanks Marian ~
DeleteFire and water on opposites but they flow beautifully, Grace!
ReplyDeleteHank
Your closing lines rock, Grace!! Love this!
ReplyDeleteThis is great show how areal word nerd thinks!
ReplyDelete"Words" how you command them..fantastic piece!
ReplyDeleteWords are like fire, water and have colors. If I want to keep myself awake, I should talk to this person whose words can be so descriptive.
ReplyDeleteI like the way you alternated your lead-in lines here, Heaven--really worked well, and your imagery was also spot on--the contrast of fire and water, and the final few lines are just excellent in the way they tell it like it is for those of us who grapple with words.
ReplyDeleteLove this! That last stanza is dangerously beautiful!
ReplyDeleteI especially love the image of words as brief as firefly lights.
ReplyDeleteThis is wonderful, Grace. So many great words, great lines. I think mine would be "still-born moon, tender-lit sky, dark-grit storm"
ReplyDeleteK
I love the final stanza-so vivid!
ReplyDeleteWonderfully done :D
Everything has been said so I'm simply add well done.
ReplyDeletewords are powerful as heat..
ReplyDeletecalm as water
and vibrant as colors.//
just loved the whole analogy here :)