quiet and concise*

I am not given to concision,
But I am very quiet.

I’m told I make up for verbosity
By my silence in the world.
Talk, talk, talk, talk,
But I’m whispering, so
Who’s it gonna bother? – I ask.

My words may, yes, be many,
But my decibels are few.
No one’s ever listening, so they
Might as well not hear me – I guess.

La la la la. La la la la la la la la. La la la la.
La.

But at times I hear a loud buzzing:
Voices from all over the world.
“Zip zap hot tot yay nay” – though
What they say
Doesn’t mean a lot to me. I try and
Grasp to connect with them
From ten million meters away.
No phones near? I’ll
Skip, hop, and I’ll jump.
What’s a meter, anyway? – Three feet.

In translating, confusion comes;
Speak slower and I’ll see.
If you yell it louder
Then maybe I’ll understand you better.

Bop bop bop bop. Bop bop bop bop bop bop bop bop. Bop bop bop bop.
Bop. Bop. Bum, bum, bum.

Of content on my continent:
Incontinence does reign.
Hip, skop, and a dump,
Flip, flop, o’er a bump...
Language masks: there’s no meaning – to our words.

Meaningless, senseless, irrelevant, pointless, insignificant,
Inconsequential, empty, fatuous, phatic, null, inane, nonsense,
Mumbo jumbo, double-talk, jargon, hooey, hokum, hogwash,
Bunk, bilge, bosh, blather, blabber, babble, baloney, bullshit, crappola,
Jabber, jive, gibberish, hot air, drivel, drool, run off at the mouth,
Gobbledygook,
Blah-blah-blah.

Conversations thick with density
Are hard to process in due time.
I cock my head and twist my tongue, but
Can’t say anything that captivates.

I wish, I wish, I wish I knew
Why all words were tangled in a goo.
I know, I know – it’s not so new...
I cannot speak from me to you.

*the third to last verse of this song comprises words from one of several paintings by Mel Bochner, entitled Meaningless (e.g.).