All These Words

these mockingbirds fret tree to tree

those bumblebees hum harvesting a

bouquet of rooted flowers these

clever monarchs slide

on orange wings through invisible air

silently surveying today's sticky

saps and sweet nectars

and all these human voices

and all these crazy lonely spaces

between the shouted

prayers and vocalizations

and the heart's soft

whimpers and murmurs

as if flying through the distance

was the meaning of the words