On Language
What is beneath the surface?
Our thoughts, our dreams
our schemes to make ourselves better
All of these surface through language
What is the mind?
An endless mirror of possibility
A mysterious force for the imaginary
Every idea tumbling out in words and images
Filtering through language
What is our past?
Glimpses of artifacts encased in glass memories
Some wisdom captured in scrolls
Others left behind as stories retold to keep us safe, as we grow old
All of these fragments live on in language
What is our future?
Projections maybe, ripples in water
Unpredictable ideas coming to light
We are seeing the meaning of our past actions
And the vehicle is always language
And not just one language, but many
All those that arose, bloomed and died over millennia
All those that claimed, conquered and embodied a sliver of the cosmos
All those still somehow teeming in the ocean of the present moment
Help us save just one, or maybe a thousand
And we’ll give you reflections
Swimming in words
on the surface of forever
