I keep a dictionary filed away
In the cabinets of my mind
Of things, ideas, and people.
These definitions are very precise,
Chosen with care and thought,
Each word is unequivocal.
Then there's you,
A character without definition
Because no matter how hard I've tried,
No matter how many words I write,
You're so differently different
That none of them feel quite right.
You are the palimpsest,
You are every word I've erased,
Every term I've tried to revise,
You are the original—
And despite all my attempts
At grasping what you are,
You'll always be what I thought,
What I knew but couldn't understand
Because you are not just one word,
You are a concept,
And one that I love,
You are the palimpsest.