There is s perfect thing to say
under any and all situations.
It varies, of course,
as the right words cannot always be the same
(Though there are some phrases
like “if I told you you had a beautiful body,
would you hold it against me?”
that work mostly all of the time)
but there is the right thing to say
at a funeral
or a 45 year old’s birthday party
or a wedding reception
where you predict the couple will last
only six weeks.
Under those exact circumstances
there are words that will work
and we must merely find them.

I am a firm believer in communication
and have used my tongue
to get out of many a ridiculous predicament
and sometimes into a most interesting event.
I have used sentences as swords
and shields,
as spears hurled against far-off opponents
or whips to titilate, tempting teases into tenderness.

I love my language
and have faith
that we can use it as cure
as salve
as strategy to salvage
then strengthen
even in the most severe situations.
I can hew from the stones of vocabulary
what must be said
tonight
to ensure that we soon speak again.