Thursday, March 25, 2010

Word strings



Do you keep words?

I collect
shiny jars of them,
strings of word pearls
to
hold up,
roll around,
tentatively test out in public when I feel brave
(and hold my breath hoping I didn't just use the word "rectum"
in place of "reticule").

A friend of mine cherished the word "canopy" for months.



Here are some word strings I am playing with today:

symbiosis, chrysalis, cherubic
portion, potentate, importune
meagre, moronic, mastering, muse


Poet Gerard Manley Hopkins did word strings brilliantly.
When read aloud, I hear
sparks that hit in unexpected places and a compex flow of rhythm.


I kiss my hand
To the stars, lovely-asunder
Starlight, wafting him out of it; and
Glow, glory in thunder;
Kiss my hand to the dappled-with-damson west:
Since, tho' he is under the world's splendour and wonder,
His mystery must be instressed, stressed;
For I greet him the days I meet him, and bless when I understand.



There's something subliminal at work that I'd like to achieve in writing.
Depth. It's the secondary and counterpart. That shadow I never quite catch.
The pull when I listen to Bach that is its own underground melody.
It's the dream world so close to waking where my best dreams and the true reality hides.


What words flock to you today?


6 comments:

Natasha said...

Faith, I could read and re-read your post- it is so lyrical, it takes you along on a wonderful journey....

Kimberly Franklin said...

I like that word "moronic." That basically sums up how I've felt these past few days. LOL. :)

Jan Morrison said...

River, verandah, meander, brush, coolee, chapparel, coyote, bluffs, dusk.

I think I have some old western dream in my heart today. The air is dry and the colours are thinned right out not fat and opalescent like here in the moisty east coast. I want lemonade and this horse I used to know named Peg - she had a circus neck all rounded and she was a bay. Also feeling my legs pressed up against the fence while waiting for my turn to saddle up and an old hand named Monty that we thought was for Montana but then we found out was short for Montague. You never know.
thanks for this invitation to ramble in the mountainous west...

Richard Jesse Watson said...

I was thinking about the word, "hep" today. My dashboard dictionary says that "it is an old fashioned word for hip." Whatever. That word was in my youthful lexicon, and was used a lot as a reply to signify, an approximation of cool, fine, o.k., great, etc.. It also meant "yes, I understand what you mean".

I love when my ears observe the evolution of language, because you know for certain that some words or phrases will simply not last, and some of them will in fact find root and end up in the dictionary on your Mac (or what-have-you). Here's some other words or phrases I've heard over time, that people have used to say "fine": very well, thank you, groovy, bitchin, jes-cool, rad, marvy, peachy, awesome, or frikkin awesome, alright, just as fine as frog hair, I'm good, or It's all good, quite pleasant thank you, not bad... just to name a few

Stacy Post said...

hyacinths, hearty, tuckered
sipper, scar, endurance
coreolis, nautilus, chanting

Not sure what that all means. :) This is a great exercise, Faith! It's stirring the creative juices for sure. I adore wordplay. Great post!

Faith Pray said...

Thank you Rayna! This one has been fun to see the words it inspires in everyone else!
Kimberly, I know "moronic" - it's a staple at our place. And frequently describes my state of mind!!
Jan, I loved your ramble in the West! What a treat of words!
Stacy, nice choices! They are very tasty to speak out loud!
Richard, your word grouping is like a mass of fabulous keys. A mess of story-tellers and time-travelers, they all unlock doors to coolness in different dimensions. Fantastic! Hep! Sweet! Sick! Klasna! (in Russian)

LinkWithin

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...