Someone's Birthday is Someone Else's Death Day
“Whatever you see in other people is what you see in the mirror..."
-- James Baldwin
There is a silent S
in debris, but not in
pieces,
and no S at all
for collectives like rubble, water
and only shifts of vowels
to change a singular
man, woman, child
into statistics of
men, women, children.
Birth then death of a man,
a woman, a child.
Births. Deaths.
men, women, children.
English knows how to mute more
than K, assign G as soundless general
in assign. Let us start with
the sounds of A absent in bread, thread,
unavoidable in meaning when
hushed, dead.
There is the sound of S
in peace. Simple, so ample
a sound, the silent a, e,
with no need for pluralizing
everyone—
All is at one.
© 2024 Kitty Jospé
On the other side of forever
lies the possibility of feeling you belong,
having arrived in a place you never want
to leave. On the other hand, lies
become mensonges, dreams once
imagined
that cannot mirror truth,
stop clouds from reflecting, turn
a loveless rock into the shape of a polished
heart ending up as precious reminder
in a lover's pocket. Do you yearn for boundless-
ness that defies man-made maps, definitions? Seek
the generosity of a tireless river lipping and lapping
beyond our self-made crosses of choices?
Some say there is
nothing
like home —
however you see it;
that no one can steal love you feel
of your own.
Then again, on the other side
lies the mirror, the mensonge
you think you never want
to leave. Or do you?
© 2024 Kitty Jospé
Kitty Jospé, retired french teacher, and art docent, enjoys how the sounds and play of language can assist more serious ideas. She is known for her teaching enthusiasm, presentations that connect art and word inspiring collaborations demonstrating the uplifting power of art and word. A popular reader, her work appears in numerous journals, and seven books.
https://foothillspublishing.org/jospe/
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