Lingua Franca Poem by RIC BASTASA

I used to say what i want to say,
at that moment, i was the happiest guy in the dorm,

everyone starts avoiding my lingua franca
and i felt i had that contagious disease

eating alone in one of those breakfast tables
occupying myself with almost everything

atoms collide, energy bursts, molecules fuse,
lands are taken, sunsets come and go,

i like being an island, ports need not have boats anyway,
you grow somehow, needing people, lucky you,

now i don't say easily what i have in mind,
i have reservations about the seasons and the times and
the people in the park, the passengers on the plane,

i keep bad opinions to myself, even with good intentions
i keep restraint, sometimes, sometimes, we must
be cautious, we are not good anyway,

i cultivate words, keep those rare ones and
put on the vase those flowery ones,

there is always a season, there is always a reason,
sometimes, sometimes, it is best when not said at all.