The Best Laid Plans

the words refuse me 
i build and plan 
scrape and uncover 

and yet 

they hide in plain sight 
refusing to be writ 
letters that self-arrange 
slipping from my grasp 

and so 

i try seduction 
offering gifts and pleasantries 
to cajole them into place 

and still 

they resist temptation 
like a lexical chinese fire drill 
re-arranging in orders i did not intend 
they mock me with lack of meaning