Timbre

A word does not head out alone.

It is carried about the way something essential,

a blade, say, or a wooden bowl,

is brought from here to there when there is work to be done.

Sometimes, after a long journey ,

it is pressed into a different service.

A tree keeps its record of years

and of the temper of years

well hidden until after death

After the timber has been sawn

rough rings release the song of the place -

droughts, good summers, long frosts -

the way pain and joy unlock in a voice.