There was a time when words did not matter
save for verbs – run, jump, stop, go…
or adjectives – hot, cool, SO mortifying.
Words snuck up like accidents,
blushing, hinting, sometimes stabbing.
I never gave them much consideration,
unless they hurt.

There are times now when words do not suffice.
The baby snuggled with his father–
past, present and future asleep on the couch.
Catching my daughter transfixed by a bubble, still
yet spinning on the tip of her nose, laughing
wholeheartedly for no reason whatsoever.
In these moments words fail me,
and I am satisfied. But in these moments
when words are unnecessary, I wonder,

Will there come a time when words are all I have?
A day when the body fails, and the brain
disobeys, when messages and meanings unravel
outside the cozy confines of the mind,
when memories become boundaries, cycling
around and again meaningless to others,
yet defining my ever-shrinking universe?

Will there come a day when I devote
an entire afternoon to etching “happy birthday”
on my granddaughter’s card, praying
that she sees “I love you” in between?
I wonder if words will fail me,
or if they will be
my dearest friends?

Lori Boulard

http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/in-my-own-words/