OUR TIME OF NEED

its always been about the words
with us-what we said
how we said them- in what form ; in which
way- to love, using words to hurt, with words to shame
how words give creedence- lay blame,we used
words to bolster our claim, we used them to prop us up
to make us feel better, when we needed it when-
and now -
it's about the words unsaid; in this our here and now
being altogether inappropropriate, for us-in this
our time of need, they are meaningless, they carry no weight
in this, our time of need, nothing else seems to matter, as
we  come to understand-that we have other senses- unused
unrecognized- hardly ever-thought of, till now
ready to reciprocate- in this-         our time of need.

by Michael Perry