words

words are magic
they are the dancing, empty air that can
teach,
encourage,
reveal,
communicate,
persuade,
confuse,
mislead,
destroy
words are nothing:
no thing
they exist only in the mind
yet by swirling some air
or making some scribbles on paper
or lighting up some pixels on a computer screen
one mind can cause the words in their mind to move to another mind
words are telepathy

words are power
but they are not all-power
they can stop a shooter (sometimes)
but never a bullet
they can stop a drunk (sometimes)
but never a car
they can stop an angry voice (sometimes)
but never a word already spoken
they are telepathy
not telekinesis
not time travel

the magic of words is enchantment
and the mind most enchanted by any given person's words
is their own mind
our words create our vision of reality
even when the words we use came from others
it is our words that give them power in our minds
our words that repeat their words
until we do not know where the words came from
only that they are there
but the secret of words is not just that the words of others are just words
the secret is that all of the words are just words
even the ones we tell ourselves