Russell Streur- A Poem

How we learned to talk on Mars

 

The hard thing was when we met the red ones was that their breath could go on a long time but none of their words were to us more than one sound at a time. Ya ka wa na ha was not like Ha ka wa na ya at all. It took years but then was not hard at all. One sound: one word: one joy. Cut out all of the noise and all of the do not know. Made sense once you slowed the pace and turned the sound down in your head. Like that and quick, tell you, fast. Then what we said we could hear. Like that, quick and tell you fast one side up in airs clear or one side in mud and knots. Whoo. Talk and hear at the same time, through ears and skin and eyes. We went to bed a lot and slept well and swam in lakes and stayed young and had fun and ate good food and made each one of us big and great and smooth and smart like ace of hearts come up all the time in hands yours and mine. Ka wa na ha, you know. Like that and more, lots, shine and shine with the moon and sun and one star of us all, tell you. Fast. And slow, when slow is best. Those red ones are hard to see for sure and true and tell great jokes and have tongues that know how to kiss. Whoo too, ka wa ha. So we learned ha, hard way one to ten and on and on to now, worth it all the time.