Dear Writer

Friend, I had no mean intention
To be cruel to you, still less
To your saltwater taffy-nosed friend,

Only sometimes I find myself
In need of some cruelty to language,
The words of which exist only

In the bacteria-haunted brains
Of the living and loving clumps
Who can't find our way in

These worlds not meant for meaning
Anything like what your pal's phrase
Attempted, end without them.