After Words

After whirls listen
whale hush comes
the cat jigs the bat
for your cares ward
off dangerous asks.

For love these old letters
wild bedraggled wag around
nest of gnarled grunts
mosses bones hair vines.

The old alphabetical guard
strains in place at attention
runes assigned ward beds
grand command inspection.

Sparse words heal
after wounds foraged
forward in a land
of odd angles
accentuated by red pencils.

Winds mean about
we know not what
if in the end this
is an end or a start.

“It’s like a new
pair of ears,”
after words wishes
remains unspoken.