Broken Eggs Poem by gershon hepner

Words can be broken just like eggs
when they have carelessly been dropped, and when they’re scrambled
they fall like dancers with weak legs.
Before words have been put to use they should be sampled
not for their size but for their taste,
and then allowed to stand en pointe and pirouette,
and those that fail need never go to waste,
for they can be restored, revising the word-omlette,
making it as lovely as
six holy oranges and trees and lovely legs,
and summertime with Gershwin’s jazz,
which help you to forget about your broken eggs.



Inspired by a poem by Anne Sexton:

Words

Be careful of words,
even the miraculous ones.
For the miraculous ones we do our best,
sometimes they swarm like insects
and leave a not a sting but a kiss.
They can be as good as fingers
They can be as trusty as a rock
you stick your bottom on,
but they can be both daisies and bruises.

Yet I am in love with words.
They are doves falling out of the ceiling.
They are six holy oranges sitting on my lap.
They are the trees, the legs of summer,
and the sun, its passionate face.

Yet so often they fail me.
I have so much I want to say,
so many stories, images, proverbs, etc.
But the words aren’t good enough,
the wrong ones kiss me.
Sometimes I fly like an eagle,
but with the wings of a wren.

But I try to take care
and be gentle to them.
Words and eggs must be handled with care.
Once broken they are impossible
things to repair.

http: //www.geocities.com/SoHo/cafe/1324/sexton.htm

11/7/08