Oral pleasures

The pleasure in certain words
           words acquired along the way
or as a child in school
           words that roll off the palate
but leave a delicate aftertaste
           that contain within them
all the ingredients of thought
           and feeling and calm reflection

no millefeuille pastry tastier
           than these little bundles
of compacted sound
           with their tripping vowels
and thunderous consonants
           words such as seldom
so seldom used nowadays
           and yet such a rare delight
on the sensitive tongue
           of a sensitive mind

John Lyons