The Power They Hold Poem by Diana van den Berg

The Power They Hold



They are the velvet of the night sky
on which to hang star sparkles
and the sharpened blade
of a murderer’s knife.

They are the sun’s balm
on troubled shoulders
and the ice agent
of hypothermia.

They are the compassion
that smiles the heart
and the blow
that fakes and deadens feelings,
thoughts and aspirations.

They are the inspiration
that motivates and liberates
and the emprisonment
of spirit and breath.

Count them,
as you count your money,
for they are a precious gift,
more powerful than nuclear warfare,
more delicate than a butterfly’s wing,
and pay them with forethought,
these powerful tools,
of growth and happiness
and death and destruction,

these things,
these words.

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(21 November 2012)
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Diana van den Berg

Diana van den Berg

Durban, South Africa
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