A poet today
has accolades
A poem of yesteryear
Washed away in time

Words are sand on a shore
They can have bright yellow hue
Or be ash from volcanoes

Words can be shaped and formed
Sandcastles of temporary worth
Or mixed with grittier things
Cement between the bricks of life
Holding us all together

Storms can surge
And waves descend
And words can be swallowed
Into a sea of indifference

Words need to be guarded.
Employed as fits their station
Not scattered to the wind
Or awaiting erosion

Build spires and temples with your words
Build up and secure a solid foundation.
For they will come for your words
Smash those sandcastles
Eat away your shore
Till you are a hollow tusk of land
And no more

Prize your words
Written, spoken and sung
Articulate them with fondness
Less your voice be destroyed

Lay siege to new words
Humble them under your gaze
Employ them in your artillery
As they dance from mind to tongue

Regain lost ground
Fortify and expand
Words are precious
Worth more than diamonds or gold
Hunger for them
Embrace them
Or have your voice unheard
Reason slipped from your grasp
Washed away
Sand gone from seashore.