Tears are the only words
when love and hate
aren’t up to the task

We can only speak with our eyes
only make make sense with raw, red faces
Deep gasps verbs and sobs nouns
A whole grammar in spasms

Voices caught in our throats
tear ducts open like clouds

Sometimes a spring shower
nurturing our heart’s fertility

Sometimes an autumn rain
cold, windy and foreshadowing
a winter for our soul

Sometimes a summer storm
flooding and furrowing and eroding
our parched, cracked earth

Our eyes opened up
our faces landscapes
etched by the
failures of our speech

Profile: Joshua McGuffie