Will a word change your thought?
Or will it float down the stream—a dream till nought?
Of one word you feel assured.
You have it stay.
Another seems absurd;
You make it go.
But sorting words this way
can’t bring you to know.
What should one ask of a saying?
“Can I keep it while straying?”
…some wonder
“Must I be paying?!”
…some thunder
“Will it help my displaying?”
…what blunder
Weighing each word against your image of you
is seeing blurred with but a thin edge in view.
That mental selfie doesn’t render you wealthy.
Let it be altered—else you’ll have faltered.
Wouldn’t the version of you that’s better
be a self-forgetful truth-treader?
No longer inconvincible,
a belonger to principle,
you’ll ask of each saying, “Is it true?”
not if it touches your portrait of you.
With this way of sorting sayings,
you’ll be done with strayings, displayings
delayings, and betrayings.
By what’s true you’ll be made new.
True words with their true weight will wall your thoughts.
These, in turn, will reveal your oughts.
Now, will you let a word change your habit of thought?
How about this word? Grab it! Why not?
by Trent Wilde
January 2024
More Poetry:
Beyond the Purple Box
Clever Clever
Miss Misinformation and Lady Learning
Temporal Relativity
The Not To Be Attitudes
The Parable of The Two Schools
Why This Over That?
