Words are wonderful!

They are infinitely adaptable.

Words are the ultimate in recyclable

Resources. Horses which are unbeatable

On so many different courses.

“Words can mean, what I want them to mean,”

As Humpty Dumpty scornfully said.

Which was witty, if not entirely true,

In Alice’s view.

 

Words will come unbidden to my mind

Then disappear into the misty air,

Defying my despairing grasp.

Other words arrive in the nick of time,

Rescuing this celebratory rhyme.

 

Words can make you a friend,

Or an enemy for life, in an instant.

Words can be sharp

And pierce you to the bone,

Or soothing, like a poultice,

For those who are lost and alone.

 

“It’s only words,” as the Bee Gees say,

But words can be precious, deep, sublime.

They can crystalise our thoughts

And hopes for peace, as we pray,

On this year’s World Poetry Day.