A five word poem begins with five given words—
and becomes whatever truth they unlock.
Five words from my son…
Dog
Killing
Banana
Sandwich
Meat
I closed my eyes
and saw a large, black bird flying.
He looked at me
with the kind of spirited, unconditional love
most commonly seen
in the eyes of a dog.
I realized, as he faced me,
that he was a vulture.
As he turned toward me, he said,
“When you love someone, you clean them.”
Then he continued
his joyous flight.
I opened my eyes and thought,
What’s the meat of this matter?
Sandwiched
between meaning
and madness.
Vultures are noble.
They do no killing.
They clean—
instinctually,
thanklessly.
They protect us
from the rotten spreading of death.
They take it within themselves,
and cleanse themselves
with the sun.
Do we do the same
for others
with true empathy?
A natural, healing occurrence—
listening
with love
and nonjudgment.
As a monkey is drawn to a banana,
a compassionate person is drawn
to those who need “cleaning.”
And these compassionate ones
must then, in turn,
love
and clean
themselves.
Perhaps through the sun,
the moon,
or the water.
Perhaps through the empathy
of others
like themselves.
Truth & Poetry 