Words

By Tadeusz Rózewicz

This article appeared in the February 19, 2007 edition of The Nation.

February 1, 2007

words have been used up
chewed up like gum
by lovely young mouths
have been turned into white
balloons bubbles

diminished by politicians
they're used for whitening
teeth
and for the rinsing out
of mouths

in my childhood
words could be
applied to a wound
could be given
to the one you loved

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