Welcomed Poem by Scott J. Shepard

With so many words,
where have they come from
or to whom do they belong?
Words, only wise when one knows
the depths of canyons traveled across.

An etymology eroded upon,
their faults, a fracture in earth's crust,
or as they reached their caprocks,
discovering they've always been mountainous,
ongoing and welcomed.

I climbed into a word, as if my own
embraced its invitation.
an inside; cordial.
its vertical sun central and warm.
nestled underneath its concept.
my will only good in its dwelling.

Its phrase, full circle,
acknowledged my distance.
distance I had borrowed,
as if language were an equal exchange
tied by our journeys
it accepted me, as I accepted it.

Rarely, have I ever known such a word
that when it left me,
continuing downwards
the canyon vast and ongoing,
I wished it well to whomever it came for.
With so many words I learned their farewell
and in so many of them,
I understood them to be fair.