Vicissitude

I speak to children 

in classrooms

of how I like

the sound of words.

The cadence of their sibilant sounds,

the music of multi-syllabic offerings.

“Pusillanimous” I say- 

mouthing the letters 

with care, 

just as I learnt 

in elocution classes.

I discovered this word

from Gerald Durrell’s

“My Family and Other Animals”

when I was a teen.

It means ‘cowardly.’ 

But today, I heard 

the sibilant multi-syllabic sound 

of another word- ‘vicissitude’

and think of you.

The courage you must bring

to this kind of 

changed circumstance?

How do you prepare 

for the uncommon retirement

of hospital beds 

and unwelcome ministering?

Yes, I have said that words

must be learnt, 

must be used,

must be shared. 

But sometimes,

they fail us.

Words are too linear, 

too exact

too categorical,

to convey the chaos 

within. 

“One day at a time,”

I mouth in my mind.

And then I turn to poetry

to make sense of it all.