She is seven
and experimenting
with the power of her words
as though she just grew claws
she places a few together
and nudges them towards me
“did that hurt your feelings, mama”
she asks with genuine curiosity
and even though I know
she doesn’t mean it
I can’t help but flinch
so she runs after the words
bursting into tears
trying to gather them back
but I explain how words get swallowed
and land in the heart
and as I hold her in my arms
she grows quiet
stops crying
and then wonders out loud
why we didn’t invent
an alphabet with letters
whose edges
weren’t
so sharp.