In Words We Trust

by Marcus Goodyear

No one has slain the jabberwock. He’s here.

old and shuffling toward us, a worn silk tie

loose at his neck where hands could not

cinch it tight. On his finger is smooth gold,

a ring from the marriage that ended centuries

ago when a suitable helper was found

to redeem the monster. Despite the poem

he settled down, domesticated, bought

a suit coat, ironed pants and shirts before

big events in the community. He volunteered

time and money, selling rides on his back

every year at the Salvation Army auction.

A small stroke behind his right eye

makes it difficult for him to read now,

but he still enjoys working crosswords

if someone will speak the questions aloud.

At lunch, he prefers salads, his love

for meat always a poetic exaggeration,

and he loves to recite aloud to anyone

who will listen, savoring the taste of words

in his mouth that he knows carry meaning

if someone would bother to print them out

and bind them and sell them and buy them.

Marcus Goodyear is senior editor at TheHighCalling.org (sponsored by Foundations for Laity Renewal) and Christianity Today’s FaithintheWorkplace.com. His poetry has been published in Geez Magazine, 32 Poems, and Stonework Journal.