hungry

stone wall ends at old

slippery monkey

papyrus bark curls

untouched by brush

where'd the words go?

bludgeoned by stones

absorbed by weeds

shed by cicadas

prayer boards brittle

rattle in stands

last holders of words

understood by none

last stand of bamboo

root to swaying top

make hollow clicks but

throat leads to no mouth

clicks go underground

calling the dead like

dolphins to feed fest

hungry for gone words

only Sanskrit left

on flimsy prayer boards

even monkeys know

they can fall from trees

© 2004 Joseph Dias