In Barbara Kingsolver's 1988 novel "The Bean Trees" the main character, a young girl from rural Kentucky, is surprised to learn that an educated man she admires thinks her language is poetic. In particular, the man cites her use of the word "hogwash". As I read this brief passage, I began recalling some daily poetry I've heard recently. Listen and you'll come up with plenty of your own examples.
* A new friend told me she doesn't comment on blogs but likes instead to "lurk"
* My daughter described the melody of a song as "haunting"
* Another friend described some difficulty in his marriage as a "squall"
I get such pleasure hearing words like these and love it when I can recall and use them myself at the right moment like my friends and daughter did. Poetic words are often simple; skilled authors like Kingsolver remind us of that. I've been collecting these little jewels in a journal for several years. Even if you're not a word geek like me, I'd still like to hear which words are daily poetry to you.
About Me
- Pat Barton
- My most recent single release - "My True North" - is now available on Bandcamp. Open my profile and click on "audio clip".
I can't think of anything that I've heard lately and chuckled at how clever the term was...but I was reading an very old book The Cross and the Switchblade and I came across a name for a cat that I just loved. If I ever get another cat its name will be "Felt".
ReplyDeleteI have to say tho' that the word squall for a dispute or what have you in a relationship is GREAT and it reminded me of our theme song we chose for our wedding...it fit our life perfectly, second mariage with three kids from the first marriage not really all that cooperative in the new partnership...song is Love is a Boat by the Irish Tenors...check it out some time...it's such a cool song-the lyrics I am surprised it's not used more for weddings....