One of the Many Dangers of Words

It's possible that we should have to have licenses to use words. Except, of course, that such regulation would just create more problems.

Why do I suggest this? Because words are slipper and they can lead us astray so easily. One must be very careful with them, because they're so pretty, they can get you started and before you know it, you've wandered into using them to say things you don't understand or even really believe.

I tried to write a poem yesterday. Now, I am not a particularly experienced or trained poet, or even really a poet at all, which is probably where the trouble began. I don't have a "poetic license." It had a really nice beginning, I thought.

"The beauty in the rainy day is in the cup of tea."

But I had no idea where it was supposed to go after that. It's possible, I suppose that it wasn't a poem at all, but merely a new aphorism. But I stubbornly refused to admit defeat and earlier today plowed shamelessly forward.

And it just got uglier and uglier. Before I knew it, I was writing as though I actually thought an excuse to go shoe shopping was a cause for celebration.

Why on earth would I want to use a poem to promote such an idea? That is not me. That is not honest. I don't want to join in with the affectation of pretending to feel guilty about spending money on unnecessary items that were probably made in sweatshops while actually giving a wink implying that we all know how much fun it is. I truly don't. Call me earnest, but I mostly have only one pair of shoes for each absolutely necessary category, and don't replace them until they're dead. (And yes, there are some exceptions to that rule, but that is not the point.)

The point is that, in search of words - any words - to fill out my poem that was struggling to exist, I ended up saying things I didn't really mean.

Words can seduce us with their mere prettiness and cause us to lose sight of their meaning and their impact. That is dangerous.

And yet, I believe I'd rather take a chance in a world where words are free, than live in one where we have to apply to use them. Despite the danger, the alternative is chilling. Let's just be careful, okay?