 |
| Art and photo by Dawn M. Hamsher, 2013 |
1st Writes did a study on "words that sing". It takes time and practice to find just the right word to get your point across.
I Want Words
by Dawn M. Hamsher
Sometimes I want words that propel
me through a story as I hang on to each breathless page,
Words that roll, barreling down a
mountain, only to be swept out to sea, as I scream.
Other times, I want words that grow
moss and lay in quiet woods, ones that hear their own heartbeats.
These words tumble dry on low in my
mind and smell of fresh air and sleeping newborn babies.
When I’m feeling frisky, I want
words that crunch under my toes and splat on the middle school ceiling,
Words that play hide and seek and
Red Rover and break the rules, skateboarding down the halls.
When I love, the words should
squeeze too tight and linger too long, leaving a lasting impression in the
cement.
Those words need action that boils
over, not watercolors, but permanent oil paints, splashing on canvas.
In anguish, I want words that break
and falter, with fat tears that drop on raw sewage.
Those are words that beg for
release, griping iron bars after receiving a life-long prison sentence.
No matter my mood, though, I want
words, all of them, heaped up in my backyard.
Words to sort through, to savor, to
discard. Words with buttery fatness and words that crack like eggshells.
Yes, I’ve decided. I want words.
