25 November 2005

Reading the water

Words are never silent
the clicker tap key click tap
too quick for the eye the instant letters
form words that flow around the issue
the way the river envelopes the rock

it's the same whether letters stretch
from point to line to whole from
a nib's scratch a murmured roller ball
or even the soft abrasion seldom used
of a misnamed lead—it's all the same

at best you see something hidden
it's the way the river heaves and slides
but the stream is not the rock; the sound
never ceases and no one ever learns
the perfect way to read the water.



Photo and words copyright 2005 Pete McGregor

No comments: