Little words
Dear heart, a word —
which word? Shall we choose something
secret and unexpected?
Don’t say ‘moon’, everyone knows
that code of longing. Don’t say ‘talk’, the running sound
of every banal conversation.
Don’t say ‘bread’ or ‘wine’ or ‘salt’ —
those easy gestures towards
humanity and history.
Don’t say ‘love’ — that hollow ‘o’ so easy to look through.
One might say ‘bird’ or ‘house’ or ‘hand’ —
nearer sounds to the one we are looking for.
There is always ‘silence’
or ‘question’ — don’t say these words,
too large to qualify.
Let us sit quietly.
Let us shape a small word that holds us.
Let that little word
be ‘name’.
Anna Livesey
Anna Livesey is a poet, corporate strategist, stand-up comic, policy analyst, literary curator-at-large, podcaster, shouting yogi and early morning raver. Born and raised in Wellington, Anna studied at Victoria University where she completed a BA in English and an MA in Creative Writing. Anna also holds Masters degrees in Public Policy and Business Administration.
Anna has published three poetry collections to date: Good Luck (2003), The Moonmen (2010), and Ordinary Time (2017). She currently lives in Auckland with her husband and two children.