I must conquer my loneliness alone
I was rifling through papers yet again and found a letter from Bob dated February 13, 1982.
In the letter he included this poem written by Peter McWilliams.
I read the letter twice, the poem many times.
I was startled at the line, “but two wholes when they coincide . . .”
I read the poem too quickly the first time and initially thought the line said “collide” rather than “coincide.”
It was the ellipse that brought me back to read the line again.
A method to slow down a reader to make sure the words are heard and not just read.
Have you ever read something and thought, “darn, I wish I had said it that way?” I forget the fact that the old fashioned way of publishing words went through major revisions until each sentence, every word was just the right one. And then I stumble upon a phrase like “but two wholes when they coincide . . .”, and I smile.
With all this instant weblog publishing, I think the art of re-writing has been set aside for immediacy.
Give me a single sentence that makes me go HMmmm and I’m happy.
That is why I love language. That is why there is beauty.
CLICK HERE to go to another entry about Peter McWilliams. He has an interesting take on creative works and how they should be shared.
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