InNate

for my classmate, Nate Kumar

To have a way with words is not inNate:

Words do not flow like rivers of new wine.

Silence is golden and the hour is late.

Some fancy panters like to prance and prate;

They love to listen to themselves opine.

To have a way with words is not inNate.

O you who think the trick is to inflate

Your language, like rolling a ball of twine,

Silence is golden and the hour is late.

He's taciturn, maintains a steady state.

His calm demeanor makes me keep in mind

That having a way with words is not inNate

Others may think that they know how to skate

Across the meaning of things, but the ice is thin,

Silence is golden, and the hour is late.

When the data stream becomes a heavy wait,

Just coo — mar not the mind. And then resign

Yourself to the words you have. They're not inNate.

Silence is golden and the hour is late.

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