Words

So here I am
Just surviving on words,
Trying to fill my lungs
And feed my hunger
With letters arbitrarily
Thrown together.
And I can't be certain
About their substance
Or confident
About their truths.
But I breathe them in
And chew them over
Hoping they'll somehow become
More than just
Letters wrapped around my tongue
Or lingering in my ears,
More than just
Symbols streaming from my pen
Or dripping from your lips.
Because many days have I found myself
Spitting out phrases that don't suit my taste,
Exhaling written pages that strangle and suffocate,
Because my comfort in words
Leads me to blindly believe
In all that they have to say.
And though they've failed me time and again,
Both in their absence
And in their lack of content,
I cannot help
But let them fill me up
And breathe new life into me,
Thinking maybe this time
They'll lead to thriving
And 'just surviving'
On words
Will be the story of my past.