THE SECOND VOICE

this conversation can't be a they or an it ... it can't even be an I ... it has to be a you ... first of all you includes it and they and just adds the security of knowing who you are talking to ... when you have proper discernment a sine qua non to the good life and the single characteristic you find in the enjoyment of a good book as well as one of the great hopes for life after death ... the face on the other side of the voice ... the smile behind the word ... all of which being absent I goes tumbling round its unnatural orbit down the slope I slid couldn't breathe or see and then I could but only to cry ... wasn't too long before I was taught to say you you you ... looking for you whenever I opened my eyes ... finding you in substance with my mouth my lips saying over and again your name you you you ... when have I stopped ... name the day I haven't said your name though I've long since forgotten what it means ... where could I hope to be not mouthing your name or trying to resurrect its syllable ... a cryptographer playing with an acrostic ... missing this one last sound ... rolling it over the tongue ... slipping it between the teeth ... chewing on it ... chewing ... oh what a fool ... calling it anything anything to avoid saying you you you