Marlene, a famous grammarian, spent her final years
if-ing and because-ing and whether-ing,
neither-ing and nor-ing: trying to connect
the intricate clauses of her past.
In her younger years she had to-d
and before-d, of-d and until-d,
making each preposition a loaded proposition
dangling at the corner of her lips.
She smeared her middle years
with nouns, like Love and Beauty,
and her yearning for immortality
was reflected in her use of infinitives:
to live, to engage, to aspire, to create.
Now, at 94, she feels that language
has betrayed her; she wonders
if she has identified the mechanics
of speech, the expression of living,
but failed to see the underlying
current behind the words.
In conquering speech so precisely,
in defining so eloquently the meaning
of being alive, she has neglected to live it.
a good point made here life has a lot of depth and dimensions to be shared and explored
This is an interesting fact, many times while evaluating we become mechanical in our approach and ignore the sentiment behind….. the words generate many meanings and are more complex than they seem to be…. same as life, the true pleasure has to be sought behind any mechanical bonding… Well composed….. **Abha**
This poem has not been translated into any other language yet.
I would like to translate this poem
There's a lesson here and very nicely written too. Life is for the living, and we can't be so afraid to take a risk that we do nothing. Doing nothing is a decision in itself. Loved it! Sincerely, Kathleen