Friday, November 4, 2011

When Words Fail

Words are my medium. The ability to construct sentences and string them together and convey some sort of message is kinda my thing. Sometimes I'm quite good at it. It is often soothing for me to sit and write. My preferred method is good old journal and pen, but the computer works, too. I've been recording observations about people and life ever since I could hold a pencil. I can't really remember a time in my life without my journals. My silent friends that beckon, open leafed with blank pages for me to fill; or that sit patiently where I left them, never complaining if they're neglected. My empty space to let off fumes, make lists, think in ink, to doodle, rhyme, jot, scribble, store important scraps of other paper, to bleed. These reams of playgrounds for my words, where I can make them twist, jump, spin, climb the monkey bars and slide. But sometimes, as soon as I get to these magical play lands for words, the words just sit down and pout. They don'wanna come out and play! [Insert stomp and pout here]

I get pen-tied for any number of reasons, most of them mundane. Regardless of the cause, the effect is always the same. The words are swimming for their lives in all directions, just churning the murky waters of my brain. It's like a shipwreck in there. All screams and bobbing body parts and splinters. The lifeboat's gone mysteriously missing, so the only sensible thing to do is to let them all drown and then pick over the carcasses later for treasure. 

Today's one of those days. But it also happens to be Day 4 of NaBloPoMo and I'm determined to see this thing through. I've been rendered speechless today by the nattering of a thousand things that will not wait their turn for my attention. So while I wait for them all to settle down and stand still, I'll let the Brothers Avett do my talking for me. Those sweet boys from North Carolina hang out with me in all kinds of weather, but they really came through with flying colors on this otherwise gray day. Here's the song they sang for me a lot today. 


"Decide what to be and go be it."

2 comments:

  1. http://thebloggingvalley.wordpress.com/2011/11/04/day-4-when-you-are-writing-do-you-prefer-to-use-a-pen-or-a-computer/
    I just clicked your link from: http://www.blogher.com/frame.php?url=http://www.nablopomo.com/blogrolls
    Lets become friends...
    I loved your saying "decide what to be and go BE it."

    ReplyDelete
  2. Thanks, Jackie! I wish I could take credit for the saying, but it's a line from the Avett Brothers' song. It's magnificent in its simplicity, isn't it?

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