words are falling

words are falling
off the page
scurrying on the floor
    blackly
now surging along the base
  of the wall
making their way
to the outside
clambering over leaves
 climbing up trees
   cluttering around a dead insect
 clinging to grass blades

the page is clean
  i am free!    
 you
       are free
  of meaning

but what of the words?
some day
when the sky is full
of bulbous clouds
     and the breeze is playing
with the tops of coconut trees
    when black-naped orioles
are tuning the afternoon to the right pitch
I'll step out gently to gather them
      and weave them into a basket.


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Salil Chaturvedi
salilwheels@gmail.com