Now I Understand Why the Pen Is Mightier Than the Sword, Why Words Are Named as Weapons.
By Carys Maloney
Gustave Doré (1832-1883), Arachne (c 1867), engraving for Dante’s Purgatory
Now I understand why the pen is mightier
Than the sword. He feared
My ink-tinged veins, the blood
I could spill with a single syllable. The tales
I could tell of Orwellian nights, of candlelight
& taking flight. The scenes
I could spin, Arachne-like,
Of perceived misgivings. He feared
The lair of my unpenetrated depths,
That which cannot be scoped:
The conjured-up lioness living there,
Chomping at the bit, hankering after
His reputation. I calmed his doubts:
I grant nothing more importance
Than it deserves; I act of my own accord.
And go about my business travelling lightly.
Now I understand why the word is named
A weapon. He feared
How I make letters curl
Under my nib, tame and purring
Submissive and instilled with
My Hera-like wrath. I calmed his doubts:
Ink is poisonous when injected, or ingested;
I told him of the truce I had made
So as not to die by my own hand.
I hold not to hatred for it stings the soul,
And makes a blunt épée of the sword
That is my attribute. I said his fear
Is unfounded: I do as I will, as I see fit.
I’ll try everything, but only once (Temperance).
And reject not a thing that experience may bring.
Black and White
Are misperceptions / of sight.
I assured him: I live to trial, I live to learn.
I put Life on a pedestal, kneeling to worship
Her daily, through starving rumination and
Regret: they shall not know my name.
And the world, not yours.
(Long ago did I learn to let go
With the outward breath)
Now I understand why the pen is mightier
Than the sword, why words are named
As weapons. Nobody wants
Their ego immortally tainted
By a post-pubescent poetess.
But disregard your fear:
I am a warrior of justice, not of vengeance.
I hold no captive lioness, I embody
No chain-bound Greek goddess. As I said:
I worship Life only, I vowed to say yes
To every experience that stitches her seams,
Without discrimination. As I implied:
I am not a slave to soured emotion,
But a master of self-observation.
I regulate every move I make,
And watch as the world
Shifts accordingly. I am only learning
As the rest of us, as the best of us.
I step back and switch my glasses.
Turn to face the future with open limbs.
