~ ~ ~
The self, transformed
becomes an elf,
on its way to being
stone.
~ ~ ~
The elf in the self is a
solitary soul,
sly and suspicious
of snakes;
when met on the road,
she is playful and kind and certain
society's rules are a guise.
The elf self wants only to be self
unencumbered
by rules and opinions
of others.
And then, we'll agree
that the loss of the "e"
leaves
life's consonants
that must be whispered,
not hissed or aspirated
but rolled on the lips
and tongue
felt by the body
like a kiss.
Self as a word,
deconstructed,
brings us solely to now,
wholly to how
we can give to each other --
by discovering the elf,
and removing the vowels
we are left with the body
the shape of the utterance,
the impulse to say,
the impulse to stay.