In a Word

May I have a word with you?
It will only take a moment.
One word
Seems so small,
Of little moment, as one might say.
But a word, a word is so much more,
Its countless shades of meaning,
Layered one upon the other,
Mocking the tiny compartment
In which the dictionary would have it.
A mountain of experience
Has shaded the nuances of every word ever spoken,
A river of tears,
An ocean of memories.
Each word calls forth a thousand pictures,
Every one with its import,
And I am just one man.
Hundreds of millions of lifetimes
Have constructed every verb,
Informed every noun,
Impregnated every adjective.
All the weight of the world bears down
On a handful of letters.
So, if you have a moment,
I’d like a word with you.