Pulled from
the mouth
of the mother
tongue.
These words
are all I carry now.
They bend.
They crack.
They disappear.
They hide inside
the inner ear.
They shake
the skull
but who can hear
the echoes
in the atmosphere
when all is said
and nothing’s done
to turn them back
to music?
Frank William Finney is a poet from Massachusetts. He lived in Thailand from 1995 until 2020, where he taught at Thammasat University. His work has appeared in The Deronda Review, The Raven’s Perch, Tofu Ink Arts Press, and other places. His chapbook The Folding of the Wings is forthcoming from Finishing Line Press in 2022.
