I must go back to the start and to the source,
Risk and relish, trust my language too,
For there are messages which need strong powers.
I tell their tale but rhythm rings them true.
This is a risky age, a troubled time.
Angry language will not help. I seek
Intensity of music in each rhyme.
Each rhythm. Don't you hear the world's heart break?
You must, then, listen, meditate before
You act. Injustices increase each day
And always they are leading to a war
And it is ours however far away.
Language must leap to love and carry fear
And when most grave yet show us how to play.
Elizabeth Jennings
