Because words make magic happen

They should not be trusted. With your eyes

Closed I could say, “a shining light,” and

You might see yourself as if from across

A sunlit field, like you were a running dog,

Or beside a lake, or at a desk in front

Of a computer.

Or I could use the words, “Korean

barbecue and French fries.” Your mind

would be so happy, all your senses

Wrapped up in the zest and sizzle of

The smells and flavors of the roasted

Meats and spices.

The sounds of words you would mistake

For satisfaction. No field would have been

Raced, no fish reeled in, the tingle of a hot

French fry might be savored as a memory,

But your body would be empty and unfed.

Nothing would have been accomplished.

So when I watch TV, I keep the sound

Down so I can’t hear the words. A fall

Is funny. Or if something breaks. Guns

Can be funny when the people in the bar

All duck and nobody gets hurt. A trap

Is funny if your hand is stuck but nothing

Else. A drunken man is funny, or a man

Who cannot find his chair, his car, his

Words. But you can’t tell sometimes about that.

In my last dream I saw the words, “Cow/

Vow,” on a page in a book. There was more

That made some sense, but I could not

Remember by the time I woke up.

Even when you are not dreaming, words

Can make reality very difficult to understand.