Vestibule
What etiquette holds us back
from more intimate speech,
especially now, at the end of the world?
Can’t we begin a conversation
here in the vestibule,
then gradually move it inside?
What holds us back
from saying things outright?
We’ve killed the earth.
Yet we speak of other things.
Our words should cauterize
all wounds to the truth.
Copyright Credit: Chase Twichell, "Vestibule" from Dog Language
Source: Dog Language (Copper Canyon Press, 2005)