An Ode to Words

Had the clergy found me first,

I would toil tirelessly by spirit

Until my body needed alone

God’s grace for sustenance.

Had science found me first,

My life be an ode to the idea that

Our salvation be in the hands

Of rigorous calculation.

Had the call for enterprise

Sung to me in sweet tones

of interest, comfort and luxury

I‘d recklessly adorn myself in gold.

But what gripped me first was the

Sweet, lasting melody of words;

Their remnants are permanent fixtures

In the landscape of my memory.