A Not-quite Pome as a Thank You

[Mia Kalish]

Everyone has been so nice this morning. Thanks Richard, and Gene and Hannah
and Don, for your wonderful references. 

 

 :-)  here is a kind of lyric poem-play for everyone. 

 

A One-act Play

Language lives as a spirit inside a people... all of whom are joined by a
common understanding, a "group knowledge" if you will. One day, a herald
comes with a trumpet and a parchment. He says that from that day forth, all
the people may speak only from the left side of their brains... for it has
been determined that this is the side closest to "god" and therefore the
"best" . . .

 

And language can no longer move about, for it has lost its feet, and it can
no longer feel, for it has lost its hands and its heart, language can no
longer sound happy or sad, no longer offer solace for woe or companionship
in joy and gladness, for it has lost its voice. Language can now only run in
circles, for it has too much energy for its task, and it can only consider
"disembodied" information, and has no way of validating it, for it has lost
its "body of knowledge". And language becomes lonely and dispirited. It
lives alone in the minds of those who are left, unable to reach its
companions. And having lost its connection with others, it begins to lose
its connection with itself, for it has lost its balance and its joy. ... And
alone, it dies. (Kalish, 2002)

 

Feel free to copy it as much as you like, and share it with everyone you
like. I wrote it a long time ago, and posted it in the Relational Languaging
discussion group that was hosted by my friend Dan Moonhawk Alford. 

 

Best, 

Mia

 

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