busy"Let the Children Lead Us"
The languages are old --
dusty, musty, rusty --
some of them forgotten
in odd corners of the world,
others pressed between
the pages of books
like dead flowers.
Let the children lead us.
They'll pull off sheets
draped over furniture,
beat the dust from rugs,
scour the rust off of
the working parts,
poke into the corners,
and open the books.
They'll make bouquets
out of dried flowers and
put them on windowsills.
Let the children lead us.
The older ones will huddle
with the younger ones,
reading stories to them.
The air will come alive
with their laughter and
everything old will be
made new again.
If some words have
been lost like pieces of
a game, they'll make
new ones to fill the gaps.
If you want to save a language,
don't look to the scholars.
Let the children lead us.