this poem is a challenge to you to

read these words in a rhythm.

speak these words like they’ve got

soul—let them

saunter off your tongue

in the sultry tunes of smooth jazz…

and don’t be afraid to

give them a little

swagger.  

drop the stilted recitation, the

monotone intonation, the

robotic drone that comes buzzing out

the mouths of the uninspired like

bees are filling their cheeks.

add some honey to these words.

make ’em sweet, let ’em cascade through the

ear canals in streams and

creeks and

rivers of gold.

let ’em water these dry, barren

fields and sink down into your roots,

back to a time when your ancestors

breathed ancient stories and

exhaled songs

into the sacred land in a language

you used to understand.

pull these words back to a time before

pop stars copyrighted dollar signs and

belted drunken vapid rhymes like they know

what it means to have that magic flow.

speak these words like a spell, let your voice

be the wand that illuminates the dark side

of these cratered minds, where neglected

dreams and passions and

childish hopes reside, hiding from

the beasts that would rip them apart

if you let ’em—

so you better

fill these words with the roar of the lion,

fill these words with the howl of the wolf,

make the air quake and

the nerves shake with

wonder, let these words rumble up from

inside you like the churning of

thunder, let them part the clouds of

your self-doubt and

fill your voice with

light.

teach these words to sing the music of You,

swell these syllables with the harmony of

your past,

your present,

your future,

and all those moments in between…

because when you open your mouth,

you can make dull eyes

glisten,

when you open your mouth,

all the world will stop and

listen

if you

read these words in a rhythm.