Word a Day

words
are birds
that arrive
with books
and spring

they
love
clouds
the wind
and trees

some words
are messengers
that come
from far away
from distant lands

for them
there are
no borders
only stars
moon and sun

some words
are familiar
like canaries
others are exotic
like the quetzal bird

some can stand
the cold
others migrate
with the sun
to the south

some words
die
caged—
they're difficult
to translate

and others
build nests
have chicks
warm them
feed them

teach them
how to fly
and one day
they go away
in flocks

the letters
on this page
are the prints
they leave
by the sea


Words are Birds, by Francisco X. Alarcon


The salient thing about this image is the thickness of that daily calendar. Just think, each morning a new word waiting there! All year long they disappear one by one until there is just a single sheet of paper left. Then they are replenished and the whole process begins again (and no, I never peek!).