Words

Alan Maley, UK

I print the words upon the page
And watch the meanings slowly grow –
They are the actors on my stage.

I release them from their silent cage,
Then line them up in a neat row,
And print these words upon the page.

New words with old (they do not age),
Whether they sound fast or slow,
They are the actors on my stage.

How they will mean, I cannot gauge,
How they’ll perform, I do not know –
I simply print the words upon the page.

Sometimes they’re calm, sometimes they rage,
Sometimes they whisper, you can never know:
They are the actors on my stage.

They take control, and then engage
With their production as they flow;
I print the words upon the page –
Watching my actors fill the stage.