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This writing was accepted for publication in the 84 page perfect-bound issue of cc&d (v240) (the January 2013 Issue) You can also order this 5.5" x 8.5" issue as an ISSN# paperback book:

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When Words Fail

Bruce Matteson

I only have so many words and they are important to me, you know? They are my guns.
They will take care of me if I take care of them and like with any of us, diet and exercise is so important
The poetry game has no off season, so they run for fitness year round
I try to keep them together, but there are so many, and they stray
When it is cold, I even put little sweaters on them but there is always the clown, oh look
Little Nike’s tongue is stuck to a fire hydrant
It’s always something, and you try feeding a whole vocabulary
I do. It isn’t easy when torque and misanthrope won’t eat red meat
And one day, out of the blue, enchantment decides it is vegan
I do want a close and personal relationship with each and every one of them
But there are so many and sometimes I look at one with blank consternation and zero recall
“Are you one of mine?” I ask
Then the tears well up, and is there anything quite so pathetic as a broken hearted word?
Even if I don’t really recognize them, I tend to fake it for their sake
And though I am not always understood, I try to keep my words happy
Even if my readers aren’t, and in my line of work, that is sacrifice
You would expect some kind of loyalty, but I don’t think so
Right in the middle of a piece, one I have called on just quits me, won’t go in
Doesn’t feel like being in one of my stupid carnages on the man’s head
What man? Which man? Don’t be so sexist, don’t be so simplistic, don’t be so vague, the thanks I get
Sometimes I just want to embrace my reactionary roots and tell them all,
In my very best passive aggression
Fine, I was never going to publish anyway

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