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
