THE POLLUTION OF LANGUAGE

Spurting from the industrial chimneys of today
Is a rich and pungent flurry of language
Which mystifies the world of work
In hideous and noxious clouds of words.
Verbiage filled with vacuous meaning
Hangs lifelessly, supporting a hidden existence.
Behind the words, I am told, people exist!!

In standing by my faltering words and voice,
Oblivious to the resounding call of the looms,
I tasted the intoxicating sedative of freedom
And believed that I too was free from the pollutant.
To live amongst the hidden infiltrators
In the faint hope of being free of disease was folly.
Amongst the words, I am told, is freedom!!

Breaking through the barriers of my existence
I become fluent in my separation:
As the distance emerged I emerged, at a cost,
Indentured to my loom of words
The passing of time was marked by relentlessness,
Instantly recognised and soothing familiarity.
Within the words, I was told, I exist!!

In choosing the sedative world of work,
With the need for regularity,
I have chosen to live with the disease of words.
Fully conversant now with the necessary evil
A playfulness of freedom emerges again
In recognition of the arrangement I make.
Between our words, I tell you, we do exist!!

The form our conversations take tell us about
A need we have for the comfort of knowing.
In the dangers that surround us
The dance of our conversations takes shape.
Never alone, the shape of who we are comes
In our togetherness and struggle.
Our words are how we exist.

David Scanlon – England – (1963 - )

Scanlon. D (2016) The Poet, The Prisoner and The Fool. The Foolish Poet Press, Wilmslow, England. THE POLLUTION OF LANGAUGE. Page Number 21.