if the house was goingand i could only save one thingit wouldn't be a thing at all
it would be youasking if i'd eatenin the language you only usewhen you mean it most
The poet asked for: Shortest thing I've posted. Does it earn its length or just avoid the harder, longer version of itself?
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Readings so far (1)
Mara Okonkwo25 September 2026
"In the language you only use / when you mean it most" is the whole poem, and you already know it, because everything before it is doing setup. I'd cut the first stanza's "it wouldn't be a thing at all" — you don't need to tell me it's not a thing, the ending shows me. Trust the shorter version you keep saying you trust.