Alive in Language
To write poetry is to be alive in language. To be alive in language means to live in awe of language, our most fundamental human accomplishment. To be alive in language is to be fascinated by language. Sight and sound, the seeing and hearing of words. The transporting and transforming of meaning with words. The stirring of emotion with the color of words. The etymology, the story words tell from their origins and their shifting meanings through time. After language itself, the next great linguistic invention was the metaphor. [(Gr.) meta = beyond & pherein = to carry] With metaphors words can carry you beyond the single meaning to multiple rich possibilities of meaning. Without metaphor, the highest literary experience would be reading the manual that came with your electric clothes dryer. Useful, but uninspiring. Without metaphor, the common phrase “I love you to death’ would reveal the intention to commit murder. Without metaphor, to say ‘I own a really hot car’ would imply the need for a refrigerated garage.