My Dangerous Voice

By Bradley Treuer

There is a petrifying element in my words, I know;

the flickering blare of our language,
the delicate artwork of my tongue’s tip.

Subtle as the surgeon’s scalpel,
glassy as the gangster’s grin.

Innocence so intricate,
Menace painfully obvious.

What is the peril? The risk? Why do you quake in the view of the tapestry my lips weave?

It might depict a malicious lie.
It could contrive an egregious lie about you.

You terrified that the heat of my words will get under your skin.
The horrible things words can do when they seep into your flesh…

They might just disperse, scatter to your blood’s current,
slowly dewing off the mists in your mind, and raining themselves away.
But they could get stuck;
vocal splinters slipping further and further into your thoughts …

But what if I told you my heart cringes when your reflection leaves my iris;
what if I told you I want to swim in the fires of The Milky Way,
and share the euphoria with no one but you?
What if my words strengthened your heartbeat,
pacified your burdens,
dried your trickle of tears?

Might that make my words worth the risk?

Read Bradley Treuer's Poem "A Pair of Old Hands"