Babble of the Tower

by Pippin O'Leary

Words always falling
Repeating
Repenting in my head
From poets
From lyrics
From jokes a physiatrist read

So profound
So in tune
Describes a life so complete
Captures moments
Kills battles
Starts, ends
Begins, finishes

Whirling spiraling
down into the deep
Of a heart
of a head
of a bed
Be it about life
be it about the dead
Dolled up in proper language
Dressed down in slang’s many threads

Words to say what gives
be it glad
be it sad
be it poor
be it rich
Words to show blankness
To show understanding
to show madness
Show bliss
show hate

Raving - short
droll - clipped
Going up or down
east or west
Contradict the paradox
in all its many forms
As gravity goes skywards
horses raise their horns

‘til a rhyme become a rhythm
an’ th’ street pulse with th’ beat
‘cause a pun is a joke of wordplay
An’ playin’ with words ain’t that unique

The mute are drenched in blabbering
the deaf grow weak with sound
As typing scribbling fingers find
a place of common ground

Screw languages at Babel, the world can see it all
From the grandiose elder’s print to a small child’s scrawl
The numb can say what they always knew, the horrors come unbound
We all learn of the child’s simple joy of showing what they have found
The grandmother being listened to, the soldier coming home
The lame walking upright again, the blind reading a poem

Miracles do happen, more often then we think.
Though not everyone can see it,
the world swims
the world wins
far, far more than it sinks.


 

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