The Language Vest
In this pocket are nouns. I use them a lot
so the pocket is double-stitched and velcroed but not
buttoned. Over my heart is the long pocket
for adjectives. My fingers no longer fit so I rarely
dig down for them but they hold many memories
(slithery and bitter). Over my liver are the adverbs
(eternally vigilant). I’ve acquired so many verbs
that they need a backpack to carry them all, and at night
they sneak out and conjugate. I do not condemn their
profligacy. It’s a small world now. Each word counts.
Imagine facing the apocalypse with nothing but a vest filled with words. “The Language Vest” is part of a larger collection titledThe Extinction Kit. Sue Parman is an anthropologist, writer, and artist who moved to Oregon from Connecticut/Iowa/New Mexico/California in 2009.