1

A little girl came to see me to ask of me

What did I see on the paper on which she had written a word?

Nothing more

I took a look at her scribbles, some here, some there, and all around

I told her all of the shapes on the paper said nothing at all

And she replied, “This cannot be,

Grown-ups all know how to read,

Tell me what it says!”

Soon I saw the thing to do was to change my tune,

And so I said:

“This is when the day climbs into bed.”

She said, “Yes, yes, I knew all along,

That my evening’s the loveliest evening,

See the stars? How they fall just like rain

In the castle it’s already night.”

2 

The architect of the scribbles smiled up at me

And in a flash I discovered the essence of all that had passed

In one word

And when the first word was spoken into the darkness came a light

With such a brilliance that each little star punched a hole in the night

And up above who did I see

In my dream she called to me:

“Wake up! Put your hand in mine.

I can read your destiny in every line,

I’ll read your palm:

Life and love are long for you and I.”

I looked down at my very own scribbles

Where my skin bears the signs of the ages

All I held in my hands was an absence

But I heard what the word had to tell me

And I grasped in my hands only silence

Til the word showed its opposite meaning

The impossible word

Like the vastness of evening

The unspeakable word

Who’s to say?