Speech Act Theory by Ryan Diaz

What if we learned to read slowly?
Savoring each sound over and over
Again till all the marrow is drained
And there is nothing left to savor.

What if we took the psalmist seriously
And spent our days and nights thinking over
Every last word that has ever been said,
Refusing to leave a single noun behind?

What if we learned to see beneath our words?
The hidden worlds wedged between the lines,
The small impressions left behind by
The author waiting to be revealed.

Maybe, if we learned to read slowly
Our speech would be measured--carefully used,
Well thought out, free from the cycle of urgency
That causes us to speak before we think.

And if we took the time to measure our words
We would learn to see THE WORD behind
Our words, the one we seek in all human speech,
The utterance who uttered us into being.

Ryan Diaz is a poet and writer from Queens, NY. He holds a BA in History from St. Johns University and is currently completing a MA in Biblical Studies. Ryan’s writing attempts to find the divine in the ordinary, the thin place where fantasy and reality meet. His work has been featured in publications like Ekstasis, Premier Christianity, Dappled Things, and Busted Halo. His first poetry collection, For Those Wandering Along the Way, was released in 2021. He currently lives in Queens, NY with his wife Janiece. Keep up with Ryan's work at www.avagueidea.com.