All We May Hope

Words
Have the blade
Of shrapnel
Hurled
Twisting in the trajectory
Of rage
Shattering bone
Rending flesh, tendon and muscle.

Words
Have the grace
Of lovers
In twisted sheets
Glistening in sweat
Pledging devotion
Binding the union
Of passion.

Words
Have the precision
Of pyramids
Improbably rising
From desert floors
Bright and audacious
Against shimmering skies
The tattoos of eternity.

Words
Are bullet and nails
Silken scarfs and burlap
Candle light and flare
Words
Are promise and deceit
Flesh and steel
Saliva and oil.

Words
Move kingdoms
Inter kings
Celebrate and mourn
Words
Are the skeleton and scaffold
Of all we are
Everything we do
And all we may hope.