Words Are Meaningless Poem by Rifhan Miller

“As empty vessels make the loudest sound”,
“So they that have the least wit are the greatest blabbers”

Words are meaningless – Like a temporary tattoo;
They wash off when overlooked
Like cigarette smoke tailing the drift of the wind;
They linger long enough to diffuse into insignificance
Just like the mints one takes after a glass of beer.
So when you say you love me, I forget you did
Because the reek of rubbish loiters longer, as lies and deceit.

We should have left it alone: guiltless, unscathed, and unadulterated
And I won’t scrub it all down, as words taint
It leaves marks where it upsets; it leaves tears where it bites
Whitewashing it’s dissimilar to an untouched canvas
As what lies beneath surfaces through its peeling corners
Let it age and weather
Let it heal on its own and manifest as experience.

So when I need to tell you I love you, I won’t.
Because I’ll do so as you sleep,
In the still of the night as you inhale and exhale – to drown it out.
I do so by not doing much, until you don’t do much;
Just to remind you, that I do.
I don’t do as I’m told – not because you don’t matter
But because you do, and I’m self-destructive.

Words are meaningless – They shouldn’t communicate
We’re so used to talk; it matures into an entity of its own.