If I ever need a gray day to look brighter I take cover under lavish words. The kind you can spread above yourself and color your skies. The kind you can stretch upwards until it seems like tomorrow is not so far out of reach. Words that drip from books and then bloom under my feet. Words that seed themselves in my heart. Words I can gather and use to softly line the inside of my thoughts. Words I can climb into and climb out of at will. Words that give a grasshopper wings and a tree its roots.
These are the kinds of words I feast on and swim in and dine with.
This is the reason I wish my house was made of books. Because you can huff and puff and blow, but the words remain on the page. Like anchors. Like lighthouses. Words come for me. They rope me in. They throw life rafts and inflatable rings. They call my name in the shadows of life. They sound through my fogs. And they wait patiently for me to write them.
Words save me. Repeatedly. Whether I am reading or writing. Words fill in the gaps when my heart struggles to beat.
I will forever be thankful.
What about you? What do words mean to you?
This is gorgeous! I enjoy how you write.
ReplyDeleteWords wake me up.
~ Wendy
That was such a pretty reflection.
ReplyDeleteFor me, words are the blood to form the beating hearts of companions.
nice essay. I am a word afficionada myself. Sometimes my best friend and I give each other words as gifts. A sheet of paper with 'verandah' on it or 'up'. The writing group I have belonged to for years is called 'the word exchange'. We (W.E.) often do exercises where we write a word on a slip of paper and then stick them in a bowl. You draw a word and write like a fanatic for twenty minutes inspired by it. I wrote almost a whole novel on the word 'giraffe'.
ReplyDeleteTabitha, my post yesterday was about the same kind of thing! Writing makes me happy, and I need it for health and peace.
ReplyDeleteLove this post.
Gosh, I'm always in awe of your writing whenever I come over here.
ReplyDeleteWords are a challenge for me. Sometimes it's hard to get them to be the real life pieces of artwork that they are in my head--but I keep trying. :)
Words mean alot to me. I think in words.
ReplyDeleteBut....WOW!!!! I LOVE your writing!!!!!
Love the whole gorgeous thing, but especially love this: "Words I can gather and use to softly line the inside of my thoughts."
ReplyDeleteWords have given me a voice I didn't know I had. They have taught me thinkg I didn't think I knew, and tore at the cover of things I thought were certain. They are alive in me now...living, breathing.
ReplyDeleteLove the picture!
Words connect me to myself, my world, and to a world beyond my imagination. Words are knowledge, understanding and life.
ReplyDeleteBeautiful, lush, lyrical post.
ReplyDeleteMy favorite phrases:
"Words save me. Repeatedly."
Amen.
I so agree with all of this incredible, vivid prose poem. I hope you're having the best word experience possible where you are right now.
ReplyDeleteA house made of books... -- love it :-)
ReplyDeleteI can't tell you how many times words have saved me. Whether writing, reading, or even journaling, I love that words melt away the hard parts of life.
ReplyDeleteWords have a physical manifestatin in my life. When I am writing I feel good. When I'm writing well, there is a lightness, a liberation, a freedom from all the worries that try to pull me down.
ReplyDeleteI don't think I could put it any better than that. Words are everything. Thanks for a beautiful bit of writing!
ReplyDeleteHm... They anchor me, give me space... settle me.
ReplyDeleteYou spoke the words of my heart, Tabitha. Thank you!
ReplyDeleteThank you everyone for your comments. I am trying to get around to all blogs today. Please forgive if I am a little late :) I am at a conference a long way from home :)
ReplyDeleteI really appreciate you all visiting while I am away :)
I could not have said it any better. If I had a house built of books too or at least a bathtub so I may soak in words, I would be a happy tenant.
ReplyDeleteabsolutely nothing better then words.
ReplyDeleteWORds... they are the ones to express your heart, your thoughts and even feelings have their own words...
ReplyDeleteMy soul has its own language, which I try to translate through my poems... I try, just try.
xo
Dulce
I have something for you over at my place!
ReplyDeleteWords can build up or tear down.
ReplyDeleteI love words put together that sing. Delicious prose is almost as good as chocolate.
A house made of books heh? :)
Words are to my mind what honey is to a bee. Without words my wings droop. Love this post, Tab.
ReplyDeleteI make sense of my world with words. I can count on them, and they are always there.
ReplyDeleteYep, they save me ... but so often they are the only way I can BE me.
Dear Tabitha,
ReplyDeleteNAMASTE!
Good Morning!
Words express my feelings and emotions,
Words help me to communicate,
Words help me to be in my hide out,
Still I can reach the world!
Thanks a lot to my Amma,Achan and teachers,
Who helped me to stay with words!
And you have written so well,dear!
Wishing you a beautiful week where words can reach you more readers,
Sasneham,
Anu
Hello Tabitha. What a lovely image you have used to start this post. Words mean everything, simply everything to me. I totally believe in their power! :)
ReplyDeleteA clear voice, and freedom.
ReplyDelete