My Job

[Plumeria :: Taken last week in Kauai, Hawaii]

It is not an easy thing to describe feelings, philosophies and ideas with mere words.  How often has it been said that "words can't express" x or y - that "words aren't enough"or "can't convey" what we hold in our hearts?  As I was thinking about all the different stories I would be bringing back home with me from a journey to a beautiful island where I drank sunshine, spent hours in the ocean, and felt love oozing from my pores every minute, this phrase kept coming up.  As I collected ideas, they came to me in bits and pieces like broken coral and seashells along the shores of Kauai.  When I picked them up to consider where they might take me when I got back home, I kept thinking about how difficult it would be to describe the texture and feel of my emotions, epiphanies and transformations.  But after reading the first short story in Bruno Schulz's The Street of Crocodiles and Other Stories, and nearly fainting over the way he turned words into a paintbrush, creating an image of a basket of fruit and vegetables like I've never experienced, I realized so much was possible, so much could, in fact, be expressed, explained and brought to life with words.  And that this is my job...this is my task now that I am back home at my keyboard, stories spilling out of my suitcase, still strewn all over the floor, having left a trail of scattered letters and images and thoughts all over my house.  It is my job to figure this out, and decide how to piece together all of these elements in way that leaves no doubt in the reader's mind what kind of joy swirled through my veins this week, and how it managed to seep through my skin in the first place.  That is my job, that is my task, to not just move beyond the "words can't express" roadblock, but take a sledgehammer to it, smash it to bits and find the way to create a connection between myself and whoever reads my stories, whereby the reader reads my unique arrangement of words and simply says, "Yes, I see."

"On those luminous mornings Adela returned from the market, like Pomona emerging from the flames of the day, spilling from her basket the colorful beauty of the sun - the shiny pink cherries full of juice under their transparent skins, the mysterious black morellos that smelled so much better than they tasted, apricots in whose golden pulp lay the core of long afternoons.  And next to that pure poetry of fruit, she unloaded sides of meat with their keyboard of ribs swollen with energy and strength, and seaweeds of vegetables like dead octopuses and squids - the raw material of meals with a yet undefined taste, the vegetative and terrestrial ingredients of dinner, exuding a wild and rustic smell."  -Bruno Schulz

Comments

[Marianne @ Zen Peacekeeping]

Yeah! Take a sledgehammer to that worn-out old cliche. Words can express so very, very much. You are clearing the path, I'm grateful to be able to walk alongside you. x

[pixie]

I'm excited to read what comes seeping forth over the edge of your cup's rim, sweet. Keep it comin'!

[jenica]

it is your job and you do it so well.
can't wait to feel more of your writing.

xoxo

[melissa]

You constantly blow me away with your writing...so beautiful! xoxo

[Lisa]

...I think too there is a sensuality, when words can't express. And there is a very distinct sensuality in what Bruno wrote...so human, so lush...thank you for this!

[shell (wildflower Studio)]

You are so talented, and I can't believe this is my first visit here. I just scrolled down and read a few posts, so many great posts!
Come have a visit over at my blog if you ever get a chance,I'd love to have you :)
Be well,
Shell

[Carolyn]

Your words hold an incredibly unique power to not only leave readers saying, "Yes, I see," but to also believe that we can embrace the unknown and say, "Yes, I can." Your writing changes lives - my own included. Thank you for all the wonderful inspiring gifts you send out into the world :).

[Grace Moore]

hmmm and all this time I thought you were here on earth as one of my living, breathing gaurdian angels - lol
your writing already blesses and inspires me. I look forward to what is coming next.
enJoy,
Grace

[Lu]

Oh, my gosh...that description...I could see it all. The picture just as colorful as described. You are right about it being our job to find the words and help our readers see. I am so glad I read this today. As I start a new adventure, I want there to be more power and meaning behind my words, not just a bunch of fluff or using the excuse, "Words can not describe it." Yes, words can.