‘Now the whole earth had one language and the people all spoke the same words… they said, “Let us build ourselves a city and a tower with its top in the heavens, let us make a name for ourselves…” God saw and said, “Behold, they are one people, and they have all one tongue, and this tower is only the beginning of their ambition… Let us confuse their language, so that they may not understand one another’s speech”…Therefore, it was called Babel, for the people no longer understood one another and dispersed over the face of all the earth.’ – Genesis 11:1-9
Remember when we all, collectively, agreed
that we should eat >5 servings of fruits & vegetables daily?
It meant something, that common ground
even if, in the end, we all ate uncomplicated carbs instead
Also, daily walks! Also, fresh air!
Also— birds & relationships & meaningful work &
love/un-loneliness/good deeds/Gratitude/
Also— BREATH (……even……slow……deep……)
And yeah, maybe we didn’t believe in God the same way
but we did share a sense of what was good,
a common aspect, articulating some unifying love
of “Motherhood & Apple Pie,” all of us
pulling our own bootstraps in one direction— UP
toward heaven, like a multilingual prayer
Our words, unhinging, from the dictionary’s wooden thud,
swarming into flight like bees, abandoning the hive collective—
Things that we speak / Things that remain unspeakable
Within us, honeycomb husks of truth and hope
still sweet and waxing on our tongues…
Remember what we said
we’d taste instead?