After Emily Dickinson A word is dead. No ligaments connecting each letter, Or blood circulating throughout. Only a collection of letters Laying like bones underground. That word is buried, without making a sound, Sinking into the soil slowly Thinking of what it could have been If it had the chance to speak for a crowd. Then that word would have lived. Each letter lunging into the next. Blood pumping through the curves, ups, and downs. That word created a life of its own By just speaking its sound. A word is dead without it being used with intention. A word is dead if there is no voice and brain behind it. That is why reading and writing are not curriculum. Every author carefully selects what they say and how they say it with intention. There is purpose and reason behind the way they choose to write. This then leads the reader into being able to use their writing as a tool to navigate this world in a deeper way. A reader being able to take what they read and think about in regards to this world is what the author intended. The novel, paragraph, or stanza the author or poet wrote turns out to be something much greater. Their creation influences readers’ decisions and opinions they make in this world. Creation is Activism.