Only Words : Three Haiku

here are only words
take them not for what they are
as they mean nothing

these too are but words
they can be a poisoned pen
or a love letter

we have only words
but we must use them wisely
for better or worse

Words

I pray these words will not forget
that they were once inside of me
and in conceiving these poor lines
I have in good faith set them free
in the hope that on their ways
they use themselves for love alone
and fight against the turn to hate
to help misguided words atone.

A Courtly Gentleman’s Dictionary 1859 : F

F:
the sixth letter of the English language
is
a labial consonant
formed by mounting the upper jaw
upon the lower lip
and emitting a breath.
Its kindred letter is V.
which is chiefly distinguished
by being more vocal.

Poem 1.1

without words
ideas would just be
crackles in our heads

without words
our emotions
could show no form

without words
dreams would fix
us in their beds

without words
our passions
would be torn

5-7-5 (take two-hundred-and-eighty-six : just a haiku about words)

all the words were lost
in long forgot paragraphs
waiting for poets

5-7-5 (take two-hundred-and-nineteen : ephemera)

as written, these words
live but the briefest moments,
you read them as ghosts

the cock

the cock
atop
the firehouse
is looking
kind of glum
he’s not sure
how the wind blows
and there isn’t
any sun
a breeze
is coming
from the west
but his beak
is pointing south
and though
he tries his best
to crow
there’s leaves
stuffed in
his mouth

One Minute Rhyme Mark XXXV : Easy Listening

Crackerjack Bacharach
fancy lemon swirls
I could write a love song
if you let me in your world
and paint it pastel sugartopped
with filigree and flair
between each line
I’d pass the time
to linger in your air.

Rummaging

These Words
I’d dropped
a while ago
and only now
I found them
stuffed behind
a cushion
on the sofa
where they’ve been
happily cohabiting
with two fifty cent
pieces
and the head
of a penguin
from a Kinder surprise.

When they were
first lost
they were but
a two word phrase
an idea just.
It seems they’ve
been busy
and an extended
family was founded.

There’s now
whole sentences
paragraphs,
some of which
only see These Words
at weddings and
funerals,
and whole chapters
which moved
away and became
involved with
the Dutch
instructions in
technical manuals
for microwave ovens.

Today’s Footprint

These words will live
forever,
born as they are now
formed as you see them
unbound from the physical
carved not in wood
nor scratched on stone
never bled upon a page
ghosts in infinite machines
dreams,
desires,
launched into eternity
their truly ephemeral state
it seems
will define who I was
at this moment