Getting Through (Poetry)

If I could
for just one moment
bend your ear
so you caught the meaning in the words
and a small idea
spark into flame
then sear itself deep in your brain
the secret part kept intimate
for things that touch you
make you think and feel
and know your own humanity is real
for others have these insights too
these sudden bursts of clarity
spontaneous as bush fires
and witness how smoke signals rise
thin and grey and drift for miles ...

Are you still listening?
Or has your attention wandered? —
lost the thread
even if you’ve persevered and read
                                                this far

Pick up the line
look for whatever beauty in the language
you can find
let it communicate
consume the old dead wood
new shoots will come
vivid with promise

It will only take
one moment of your time
if I could
just bend your ear —
hoping you hear
                        my song