i.
Yes –
A simple word
only three letters
that just slide free of the tongue
in a hissed syllable
so easy to say
it almost takes no effort
what-so-ever
but so very hard to do
and even harder to be
ii.
Now –
The tiniest of moments
tinier than the lighning bolt reflex
to blink one’s eye
in response to the firing
of a camera’s flash
tinier even than
the fingersnap of that camera’s
shutter opening and closing
to allow light into its lens
a word who, paradoxically,
when said, is no longer itself
and, in fact, never was before
and never will be again
iii.
Today –
…is kinda like ‘now’
but w/ a longer shelf-life
the extended dance re-mix version
to the radio-friendly single if you will
so go ahead and leave it
on the kitchen table
so that passers-by
drawn here by its aroma
can enjoy its fresh flavor
w/ no rush to return it
to the fridge
for fear it may spoil
iv.
Please –
No more basic word
to express the need
for a fellow human being
to acknowledge
another’s inalienable humanity
though one may be more blessed
than the other materially-speaking
together they are equal spirits
v.
Life –
Speaking of paradoxes
like quantum physics says:
“the act of observing an event
affects the results of that event”
or something to that effect
anyway, you get the drift
defining something requires
a removal, a segregation
thru impartial detatchment:
you from other in other words
can one alive separate themselves
for just enough time
to give meaning to its name
vi.
Love –
If any word could do no harm
then this one ahead of all others
should be it
but ‘love’ never had to take
the hypocratic oath
to be awarded its office
a complex ever-changing mosaic
love has many sides
and a good number of them
are dark indeed
vii.
Us –
Another small short word
oh so deceptively so
equally as easy
ro say as ‘yes’
which also necessitates
a partitioning from one another
of supposed autonomous states
flags drawing boundary lines
visible only on paper
paradoxically requiring
a constant and ever-shifting ‘them’
to be eternally opposed to