View Cover
Dangerous Words by Don Domanski
little by little the thistles suffer on the hill
bare trees enter the river
the wind takes the earth and blows
it drop by drop into your ear
you are ashes mixed with rain and sleep
leaves rustling in a closed hand
a mouse dropped out of a cloud
dangerous words pass under your window
words that no one has ever used before
you follow them into the woods
your find three words building a fire
one word skinning a rabbit
and another word far off in the shadows
pissing on a violet
what do they have for you
these five elves these little men
this little sentence in the forest?
they have but one knife between them
one hat one coin one pot
and a dark bag full of spoons
what good are they to you?
what can they give you
that you don't already have?
if you touch them
you touch a hanging bell
and a small tongue wakes in the grass
to speak to you to give you a name
to call you tulip or pincurl
or doll's breath
which means you'll never see
your home again not your parents
or their love
which means you will always whisper
but never speak
never escape these little men
these words burning their supper their rabbit-water
in an iron pot.