In the Weight of Words

In the weight of all they say,
they reach weightlessness—
they reach silence,
in the weightlessness of all they say
yet left untold.

In the ache and suffering of their wings,
they take flight.
In the throat of their howls—
a bird’s song.

In the volume of all they do not utter,
they bend, they incline,
finding form in formlessness,
shape in shapelessness,
measure in the immeasurable.

They stretch through branches and leaves,
flourish and boast,
until there is nothing left to say,
no branch left to bloom,
no bud left to ripen.

Their growth meets its end,
folding into itself,
finding life in annihilation,
infinity in finitude—

a forest of equal inequalities,
numbers collapsing with solemn pride to zero,
noises uproarious yet swallowed by silence.

In search of whiteness,
they mix every color on the blank canvas,
only to return—
whiteness, reclaimed in meaning.