At the lip of a cliff,<\/p>\n
The cliff of a lip,<\/p>\n
Letters tumble one<\/p>\n
Over another, head-<\/p>\n
Long, trampoline<\/p>\n
Trampling, stumbling<\/p>\n
Stampeding from<\/p>\n
Inside out, over, in:<\/p>\n
Inside the self, out<\/p>\n
Of the mouth, over<\/p>\n
The lip, into the ear<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Some fall soft, some<\/p>\n
Hard, some fall short<\/p>\n
Some long, some on<\/p>\n
Deaf ears, some don\u2019t<\/p>\n
Fall at all but stand up-<\/p>\n
Right at attention, at<\/p>\n
Tension.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Such a flighty thing, but<\/p>\n
So concrete, weightless<\/p>\n
But so heavy, formless<\/p>\n
But with so many shapes \u2013<\/p>\n
Some crooked, some square;<\/p>\n
Some straight, some round<\/p>\n
About<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
There are blessings, letters<\/p>\n
Coming together in love.<\/p>\n
And there are curses, inks<\/p>\n
Coming apart in hate. The<\/p>\n
Cursed try to curse the pure \u2013<\/p>\n
It is part of their curse.<\/p>\n
But the pure cannot be cursed \u2013<\/p>\n
It is part of their blessing.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Cursed men, men that worship<\/p>\n
Everything false, men that cannot<\/p>\n
Stand truth, for then they must be<\/p>\n
True (to) themselves; men whose<\/p>\n
Plastic existences begin melting<\/p>\n
At the mere glimmer of holy warmth,<\/p>\n
Can do nothing but curse, criticize,<\/p>\n
Spite those that do not pantomime<\/p>\n
In the fixed (but broken) game of<\/p>\n
Charade.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
The cursed must threaten that which<\/p>\n
They feel threatened by.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
The cursed must pay lip disservice<\/p>\n
To the sacred mouths that speak Truth \u2013<\/p>\n
Lest they be shushed forever.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
You shall not curse the nation
\n<\/i><\/p>\n
For it is blessed<\/i><\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Ah, but do they not know that<\/p>\n
The blessed cannot be cursed?<\/p>\n
No housefuls of gold and silver<\/p>\n
Can change what is; no wizardry<\/p>\n
Or lip movement can profane the<\/p>\n
Holy<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
G-d opened the mouth
\n<\/i><\/p>\n
Of the she-donkey
\n<\/i><\/p>\n
And it said\u2026<\/i><\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Some lips are expected to move in speech;<\/p>\n
Others only in chew.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
O, but when they speak, we have no choice<\/p>\n
But to listen:<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Of all beings, it is but the human who has<\/p>\n
The ability to speak truth \u2013 or falseness.<\/p>\n
The human alone has the power to speak<\/p>\n
Wisdom \u2013 or stupidity; the choice to use<\/p>\n
The lip for good \u2013 or, heaven forbid, curl it<\/p>\n
Up to no good.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
All other creatures haven\u2019t the free will<\/p>\n
To say what they like (or dislike); only<\/p>\n
What they know. The sun sings constant<\/p>\n
Praise, lest it cease to shine. The tree remains<\/p>\n
Rooted to the ground, lest it shrivel up and rot.<\/p>\n
Denial<\/p>\n
Is not a word in nature\u2019s lexicon or vocabulary \u2013<\/p>\n
Nature just doesn\u2019t have that luxury<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
When the routine changes, when the donkey<\/p>\n
Speaks, when the sea splits, when the sun stops,<\/p>\n
We call it a miracle. Miracle: when creation<\/p>\n
Reflects divine eternity (it happens all the time \u2013<\/p>\n
Is it less a miracle for the donkey to walk than<\/p>\n
For the donkey to talk? It seems as if frequency<\/p>\n
Has spoiled us.)<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Sometimes we need the ride to lead the rider:<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
When things seem cursed,<\/p>\n
The world more broken than complete,<\/p>\n
We need the physical to show us the spiritual:<\/p>\n
Sometimes, when man acts like a beast,<\/p>\n
It takes a donkey to say it the way it is<\/p>\n
(Donkeys never lie)<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Shock value:<\/p>\n
Hearing the truth, even<\/p>\n
When the messenger seems<\/p>\n
Stranger than the message<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Lip service:<\/p>\n
The power to take a curse<\/p>\n
And make it a blessing<\/p>\n