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The Book's the Thing / Words, Words, Words

March 12, 2008

A bit of poetry in honor of impending spring

"At The Store" by Jane Kenyon, from Otherwise. © Graywolf Press, 1997.

I. At The Store

Clumps of daffodils along the storefront
bend low this morning, late snow
pushing their bright heads down.
The flag snaps and tugs at the pole
beside the door.

The old freezer, full of Maine blueberries
and breaded scallops, mumbles along.
A box of fresh bananas on the floor,
luminous and exotic...
I take what I need from the narrow aisles.

Cousins arrive like themes and variations.
Ansel leans on the counter,
remembering other late spring snows,
the blue snow of '32:
Yes, it was, it was blue.
Forrest comes and goes quickly
with a length of stovepipe, telling
about the neighbors' chimney fire.

The store is a bandstand. All our voices
sound from it, making the same motley
American music Ives heard;
this piece starting quietly,
with the repeated clink of a flagpole
pulley in the doorway of a country store.


Posted by lisa at 10:56 AM | Comments (0)

October 26, 2007

Try to work this one into your vocabulary...

nosism (NO-siz-em) noun

Definition: The use of 'we' in referring to oneself.

[From Latin nos (we).]

As it's often used by editors, it's also known as the "editorial we".
It's also called "the royal we" owing to its frequent use by royalty.
Mark Twain once said, "Only kings, presidents, editors, and people
with tapeworms have the right to use the editorial 'we'."

-Anu Garg (words at wordsmith.org)

"We must avoid both egoism and nosism in order to realize the glory of
humanity."
J. Odera Oruka; Philosophy, Humanity and Ecology; Diane Publishing; 1996.

Thank you, Wordsmith.org

Posted by lisa at 1:36 PM | Comments (0)

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Monday, May 12, 2008