Words Poem by Lois Read

Words resound in my soul like gongs
or the bells in the Buddhist temple
where the saffron-clad boy-monk
sidled close to me on the bench
to see what I was sketching.

Words bounce like lottery balls
in a wire cage,
wake me from a sound sleep
crying out
'use me! Use me! '

Words are what the poet singsd
off-key or on
to celebrate the everyday
the cosmic and the comic
the chorus of the universe.

Words. Placed by the poet in a certain way
tweak the ear and the heart
to sidle close
to listen carefully
as the world pours in.