Awk Word

Moving through the dashes
specks and commas thick
but small, breathing spaces
between the letters and lines

Here a knot there a dot
in between a punch to stop
exhalation landmarks
entwined with landmines

The oomph and the bombastic
the words to fly by
to chug up a ladder with
and slide down a chute from

Mix and shift, toss and pitch
juggle them see where they
land - the groans within
syllables - each a spurt of
last days sighings

Here now - dust tomorrow
they speak volumes
of wobbling and flight
crashing and clawing

The innards of a life
meanderings soft
boiled hard and hardy
escaping the flash pan
with a question mark

Bobbing near the i
like a life saver
or a fish hook
whichever happens
to be its reflection.