the audial imperative
just as lovers vent their passion
in gasps and groans
so too a poem
must be released in sound
lips compressed or parted
tongue arched or darting
teeth and palate poised
and of course the vibrant cords
all comoplicit in the process
eliciting the gamut
from whisper to howl
popping the plosives
noising the nasals
frothing the fricatives
stroke and lift
stress and rest
until the syllables awake
and begin to breathe
and cry
and sing
and the spaces between the sounds
resonate the grief and joy of living
all of which is just to say
aloud
the verses must be read
poems on a page are intert lovers
dreaming on a bed
