Be Careful What You Speak

I didn’t know, couldn’t have known,
That you were being noble. My poem
Did not make it true, but you never know
How much your words can do. Be careful
What you say, for God can only affirm
Every syllable, to manifest what you would
Or wouldn’t do for yourself. This silver thread
From God to me, that ties my heart to what
I want to know, is a bond stronger than steel.
Now is the time for us to confirm everything
That has ever been said between. We must
Make sure that the Gods don’t hear what
We don’t want them to know. We must be
True to the image of purity that washes us
Through and through, because that river is
The Nile (a sad pun, but too real) that keeps
Us from the vision that our illusions veil.
Day after day, I try to say the wisdom
Of my heart, to speak my mind and let
You know what it is that I must say, but
If time and fear befriend me now, giving back
Some of lost past, to feed my soul with
Living vines of flowers that cannot last,
But fall away to be kicked aside along
My garden path, I can but look over my
Shoulder to see it trudging on, dust swirls
At its feet and halos on its crown. That is
The fear I’ve spoken of not so long ago,
Telling you what life was for this wraith
Who could not go forward or sideways but
Only look back, to beat herself with fear
Knowing that some fine day, she’d be
Meeting up with it here. And so she tries,
So very hard, to be careful how she says
The things she wants to have come through
And silence for the other. The Gods’ ears
Are well attuned to listening for lies, and
The Gods’ eyes are accustomed to seeing
What she wants – and more. She has not
Fooled anyone, except her foolish self,
With all this carefulness of words and
Soulful striving on. What God wants for
Us to know, we’ll know before we’re gone.

(c) 2005 Salle Hayden