# Ode to Parentheses
**by Catherine Buercklin**

My words
cupped in your
soft hands.
Suspended
in anticipation
of an exclamation
I am frightened
to put in fully
fleshed ink.
Holder of all
unuttered phrases.
Your sides
glide in and out
as forgiving as a womb.
Amenable.
Open ended
in your rather
precarious nature.
You anchor me
in your fluidity.