By Jahnavi Gogoi
LANGUAGE IMPAIRMENT
Language has failed us at this point.
We communicate like fish instead.
With a grinding of skeletal elements and dentin.
Language has failed us at this point.
You are a spider sending me vibrations.
I feel it in my sensilla while laying my sticky traps.
Language has failed us at this point.
We join our roots covertly like trees.
Learning altruism as we hover above the ground.
Language has failed us at this point.
Now we cover this distance like birds.
Flashing our plumage and singing our rhythmic ballads.
Language has failed us at this point.
We are minting a new lexicon.
For the earth to grow intrepid, to have the final say.
Glossary:
Dentin: Bone like tissue under teeth.
Sensilla: Organs found on insects on the shell. They contain neurons which help them to understand their environment.
Jahnavi Gogoi is a poet born and educated in Assam, India, now based in Canada. She is a freelance writer and a Touchstone and Pushcart nominated poet.
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