The Power of Words
Antithetical beliefs can divide even friends.
Gain hope in justice, kindness, love…
Mankind needs optimistic poetry.
Quiet reason silences the untenable violence
when xenophobes yell zealotry.
#125
Linda Studley
Can't Put the Pen Down…
Archive for the tag “words”
Word Geek
‘Eye to eye’ means I agree
with you, and you with me
and ‘nose to nose’
might come to blows
though not usually.
‘Toe to toe’ means no holds barred
(There’ll probably be scars)
But ‘cheek to cheek’
is kinda sweet
when dancing ‘neath the stars.
So I’ll ‘be all eyes’ and ‘follow my nose’,
I’ll make sure I ‘stay on my toes’,
and if you call me a ‘word geek’
I’ll simply ‘turn the other cheek’
#113
Fertile Words
Take a pencil, made of wood,
and paper made from trees.
Jot your words, draw your lines,
and make a moment freeze.
How long can you hold it there?
Until it rots and then
it feeds the forest floor
and becomes a tree again.
#43
Say What?
Bees that buzz and cats that purr
and tiny little hummingbirds
apparently forgot the words
to their respective songs.
Bees drone on as if demented
cats purr to show that they’re contented
hummingbirds hum without relenting
as they fly along.
I wonder what they all would say
if words replaced the noises they
generally make all day
instead of mantra mumblings.
I imagine that the bees
would sound much like Yosemite
Sam, in low obscenities,
growling and grumbling.
The cat, I’m seriously willing to bet,
would chant the language of Tibet,
his Zen-like trance enticing pets
from humans passing by.
And, finally, the little hummer
whose wings beat like a manic drummer
would complain that it’s a bummer
to work so hard to fly.
#233
Life the Puzzle
Oh to write a poem or song
and own a few words for a while,
to make them mirrors for your heart and then
to throw them all in to a little Crown Royal bag
like scrabble tiles,
shake them around, listen to them rattle,
then pour them out and start again.
Life the puzzle
Poems and lyrics the clues.
#221
Noun-ectomy
I have friend who tells me
that her vocabulary
has undergone a radical noun-ectomy
which makes it rather hard for her
to give lucid instructions,
unless she uses gestures. I suspect that she
may well be inventing
a new, interactive language
where all the nouns are gradually replaced
by “thing”, the handy word
that means everything and nothing
I see exasperation on her face.
as the nouns all slip away
and everything’s a thing
conversation becomes a game of cold to hot
as you try to figure out
to which noun she is referring
you touch things to see if she nods or not…
“No, no, get the thing over there. You know, the thing, the little thing behind the big thing. Not that thing, the other thing…”
#214
Playing on Words
Take a sharp tongue and mince your words.
These should be honeyed and taken with a grain of salt.
Eat them or keep them to
put into someone else’s mouth.
Using the rough side of your tongue, mark your words,
weigh them, and load them with irony.
Let them sink in. Twist or break if necessary so they can be
thrown back in your face.
#55
“Falling Awake and other poems” now available online! Follow the link below to order your copy!
My CD "New Traditions" is available for listening or digital download
My CD "Breathe" is available to listen to or for digital download
Linda Studley
Linda Studley is a writer, songwriter, independent recording artist, and sometime graphic artist living in Northern BC, Canada
Linda Studley 