"Quarantine Diaries," by David Garyan (Day 47)

Photo by Tigran Hovhannisyan

Quarantine Diaries – Day 47

April 30th, 2020

Trento, Italy

Good Intentions

In times of need,

friends don’t give wallets,

and they especially don't give

lavish ones without money in them.

What’s a hungry person

to do with silver forks?

Those who really care

may arrive empty-handed,

but they’ll always

bring their own face.

And those who bring their own face

never convey expressions of promise.

People come to the home that you have.

They never visit the troubles you own.

Although words and actions

speak different languages,

the former needs only one impulse—

and that's to grasp the latter.

Don’t say you want to change

the world if you can’t recite

desire's alphabet.

Don’t say you’ll help a loved one

if you can’t articulate love.

Don’t say you’d run into burning buildings

if you don’t know how fire burns—

that's faster than it’s pronounced.

Too many people

have tongues which are longer,

but in fact lengthier

than old dictionaries— those that no one consults anymore.

Like studying fossils

of extinct species,

what would you know

about the awful men and women—

mere saints and beasts of the past?

Speak honestly;

all the mouths you’ve fed have forgotten the shape of your hand. And every hand that's taken

Recent Posts