The Geometry of Words
By Srinivas S

Some words are cylinders.

Historians of every stripe, they

Remember everything; and

Refuse to renounce their memory

Even as it replaces them.

Some words are circles.

Solid citizens of languages, they

Eschew fights; stay calm; and

Allow neither morality nor moods

To bleed into them.

Some words are squares.

Soldiers of the right, they

Accept battles; pursue peace; and

Allow both space and time

To chisel their angles right.

Some words are triangles.

Diplomats par excellence, they

Debate both love and hate; and

Endeavour to unite them

In the spirit of living.

Some words are cubes.

Sorcerers after a fashion, they

Hide their third dimension; and,

Like complex puzzles, purvey

The point of life.

Other words come in other shapes;

And others yet are shapeless…

Between their well-defined cousins

And themselves, though, they represent

Thought’s armies and peacekeepers.

Srinivas S currently teaches English at the Rishi Valley School, India. When he is not teaching, preparing for classes, or perusing student essays, he takes long walks, watches cricket, and dabbles in poetry. His writings may be found in places such as ESPNcricinfo, The Full Toss (a cricket blog), Amethyst Review, Borderless Journal, Spark (the magazine), The Wise Owl and The Hong Kong Review as well as in a number of haiku journals.