What use have we of language today?

What use have we of language today
When we are content to say what we need to say
By the touch of a hand or the twitch of the face
By the clenching of a fist or a quickening of pace

We wage wars to show possession and create
Disloyalty among the human race
Which was, if I recall, born of the same seed,
Conjoined at birth but separated by greed

We close our eyes against the noisy spring
To feel the peace that only its breeze can bring
Yet we also squeeze our eyelids tight
In anticipation of a blow dealt during a fight

We get down on our knees to profess how we feel
And before words are spoken, the act is clear
Yet why is it that we are often dirtied to our thighs
While bent over a grave amidst fearsome cries

We wink when we flirt, or when a secret is concealed
It is with such momentary gestures that actions are sealed
A business deal done with the shake of a hand
No words need be exchanged, now isn’t that grand?

Yet why is it we feel the need of weapons and wars
To either protect what is also theirs or steal what is already ours
You cannot fight over who claims right over the earth
Because for each of you here, there was someone there first

Wouldn’t it be better if we used only what we already had
Without inventing more heads or extra pairs of hands?
Why couldn’t these raised arms be outstretched for an embrace
Why couldn’t we all just be one silent, loving race?

So here we are, with faltering actions but language as our aid
The truth is like the blaring sunshine while the cover of words is our shade
And we use hands and legs against what our hearts were taught
Only to bring pain and suffering, and speak only when words are naught.