shot glass
title
"... brevity is the soul of wit ..."
- William Shakespeare

Bio


Diane Jackman's work has appeared in Rialto, Happenstance, Snakeskin, small press magazines and many anthologies. Starting out as a children's writer with seven books and more than 100 stories published, she now concentrates on poetry and short stories. She is passionately interested in Anglo-Saxon literature and medieval rabbit warrens.


Diane Jackman


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In the Museum of Words

A woman shot holes in the walls,
a man blew up the floor
and the words tumbled into darkness.

But like the seeds of flowers
in a field sprayed with herbicide,
they did not die.

They sheltered in the nurturing darkness
until the day all guns and bombs had disappeared,
to be replaced by men and women
who shot words at each other.

The more words they used,
the more they needed
for conversation,
and the words sprang up
from the dark places into the light:
words like brother, sister, freedom, hope, joy, love.