Chapter and Verse

Words

Truth is,
I like the words that
I don't write down,
forget to write down,
for one reason or another,
will never write down

best.

I like the words that have never been set in
newspapers, literature, magazines,
propaganda pamphlets, film scripts, translations,
encyclopedias and self-help books.

I like the random words that don't make sense.
I like the amateur words that will never get paid.
I like the gibberish words my niece mumbles
as she grabs for my nose and

twistsssssssssssss.

I'm in love
with the snowflakes of words
I'm too lazy and too slow
to catch; they evaporate
just as they hit the ground
anyway.

I have a grudging respect
for the syllables that laugh
at my vanity when I sit
at this computer,
ignoring the ringing phone
while trying to recall them
hours later.

I can only gaze
at the words that

swim in circles,
float in schools,
dive so freely
over my head
as I lay in bed

for that one last moment
before rising to face
another day
in a world
that has

a serious word
for just about
everything
and everyone,

every action
and inaction
that goes on
or will go on
anywhere
ever.

Yes,
I like the words best
that are just there
for no reason at all,
and with no other purpose
but to amuse me

in that
unnamed
place

between awake
and dream.


Los Angeles - 3/16/06

"The best lack all conviction, while the worst
Are full of passionate intensity."

~W.B. Yeats