Wednesday, March 1, 2017

It is for this reason that I carry on in my love affair with words




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What a ravishing exchange you worked out with the world
each day
each damn day you let in the cold
and suffer in the wreckage of your mind
but I think,
 its really the hearts that have nearly been ice,
the hearts broken more than twice


those are the ones that light every star in the sky


-K.V.Kenney

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I originally wrote this piece for a dear friend of mine. It's so interesting how words seems to transcend the meaning we delegate to them; words almost always end up meaning so much more, in ways we might not have initially intended. 

It is for this reason that I  carry on in my love affair with words. 

Words: inky time and space travelers. The rebellious paradox that screams in utter silence. 

Today I read over this poem and realized that it was no longer just written about my friend, but also written about me.  It was a queer, but inspiring, thing to become aware of.  It was yet another display of how language is the vehicle by which our heart flies!

 because our words live on a different kind of plane, they are not bound to the rules of existence that we are; one day I can read a piece of literature, and it seems one way...the next day it can sing a whole new song!

It is for this reason that I carry on in my love affair with words.

earlier, I watched multiple faces morph with understanding  as a fellow classmate shared a series of poems. It was a series he had written during a parent's battle and loss with cancer. I watched a room full of strangers quite literally be moved from disconnectedness, to a place of unity. His words, spewing from tears in his soul, echoed into the tears of others without him intending it. 
WORDS. 
that's all it was.
 His words, written for himself, were able to permeate the boundaries that separated us. I could feel it buzzing on the edges of my skin as he spoke, the words were meant for him...but spoke to everyone. Even if they hadn't had cancer... they knew someone, or knew a friend who had been subject to its wrath. Even beyond that, people reacted to his humanity. Black and white letters on a page were able to lift off the sheet and move each of us


It is for this reason that I carry on in my love affair with words.








1 comment:

  1. An insightful way to describe the classroom experience. Dan delivered some powerful stuff!

    ReplyDelete

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