Communicating is Tricky
This year I’ve decided to learn to talk To myself That way - once I’ve got the hang of it And do it so well I don’t know I’m doing it - I can branch out and begin talking to Well ... the island, the country, the world (but not her husband just yet)
The language won’t be critical
Words – I’ve heard – are only vessels
For ferrying ideas from A to B
Be that as it may be
And it may very well not be
My words must be sturdy,
Sturdy and aerodynamic
Capable of great distances without deteriorating
Without arriving battered, tired, and (god forbid) breaking up
Whatever the divide, each sound must travel
Floating into conversations
Gliding over doctors' desks
Slipping round bureaucratic hurdles
Diverting message-bearing missiles.
Without once jogging or working out in the gym
Each syllable will be fit
Not bristling muscularly or sagging flabbily
But dancing in the lightest coat of humour
The finest veil of drama
Each sound leaping into depths,
Diving to heights,
Lightening every pulse
Exciting thought with grace
Last year I taught myself to read
Next year I’d like to learn to swim
But this year
This year I’m going to learn to talk
To myself
February 1989