I wrote this poem more than two decades ago, while experiencing communication challenges in my own relationship. In personal and professional contexts, have you experienced the doldrums or the dangers of hardened words?
Words not understood - wasted words, wadded words - Pile up on our ocean’s floor, Where they harden into an atoll of death, Waiting to waylay life’s lovers. We must navigate such waters, or be torn apart on the reefs of calcified words, Our sacred hull is scarred mightily, yet the frame holds. We bail, then patch the punctures - We’re afloat still. We desire the illusion of safer seas, But these are ours, no matter how rocky. Is it better not to speak? Then there is nothing to crash on - Yet the doldrums deal death. Silence is a zealous hazard. This ship needs more than St. Elmo’s fire To make it dance across the waves. Solid words that find their way To the home of hearts Make the rudder run strong and deep. Rarely, sweetly, they come.
thank you for this poem Carol. It reminds me of that old song that goes, "The waters are wide; we can't cross over, and neither have we wings to fly."
Awesome, Carol!! Much on which to ponder!