ashley dunn

    What Are They Good For?

    I have not heard
    Any words
    That are not adaptive.

    I have not heard
    Any words—
    Any, anywhere words—
    That are not adaptive
    For the speaker. Author.

    All that space. All those papers.
    Attempts at universal order, meaning, truth,
    Identity, experience, shaming,
    Legitimacy, parenting, love,
    With no awareness
    Of the limitations
    Of our words—the adaption
    Of our whole life sentences.

    I could not, surely,
    Have just heard him say,
    “I love my wife.” I know what he does at the weekend!
    And I know
    Her book club
    On Tuesday evenings
    Does not exist (they sometimes
    Meet on Thursdays too).

    O our beautiful words!
    You make all this around us
    Look meaningful and safe. I love you!

    (A version of this poem was first published as ‘Adaptive Words, I Love You’ in A New Ulster, Issue 116, August 2022 (https://issuu.com/amosgreig/docs/anu116))

    The line breaks and hanging line indents may be incorrectly formatted because I cannot be bothered to fiddle with the HTML. View the correct formatting in the full collection Juveni… Doesn’t Matter (The Grey-Salmon Book) (and subscribe at the top of the page).

    Leave a comment

    Latest Work