Words…
My bread and butter,
my warm bath-water,
my crystal clear lake in the height of summer:
my home.
My perfect mirror
of life all a-glimmer
reflecting the light in myself and in others:
shine on.
My light in darkness
in every dim recess
of human unkindness you fear not to go
and so
I know me better
through words I utter
whether scribbled on paper or typed
doesn’t matter;
these words are mine,
and in darkness they shine:
I give them out freely and, light as they leave me,
move on.
© Experimentsinfiction 2021, All Rights Reserved
I love words
We’re heading towards Valentine’s Day and with love in the air, I wanted to celebrate my life-long love affair with words: the sound of them, the shape of them, the feel of them as they trip off my tongue. The forms they make when you string them along into phrases, sentences and stanzas: aren’t they just wonderful, even before you get down to the substance of what they actually mean? I really do love words, and I’m sure many people reading this can identify with that feeling. I feel at home in my own skin when I play with words, and that is a fine feeling! I hope you enjoy this lighthearted little offering for dVerse.
Experiments in Fiction 
I love how you see words as light in darkness. They certainly are for me too. This is beautiful Ingrid.
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Thank you 🌟
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What a thoughtful piece! I especially like these last two lines :”I give them out freely and, light as they leave me,
move on.” The idea of our words moving on is thought provokiing. Well done!
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Thank you! I just tend to move on to the next poem once I get finished the current one…sometimes I go back but quite rarely, as I don’t think I have time 😅
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I love to live in words as well… I have been in a place where my favorite book was a dictionary… and I still regularly go to wordbooks for inspiration…
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I used my ancient Greek dictionary for the first time in years yesterday-I found that particularly exciting!
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This is wordalicious! :) LOVE this!
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Thank you, Lillian, I’m pleased it raised a smile 😊
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Nice ode to words
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Thank you 🙏
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Fine work, Ingrid. You’re clearly not alone in your love of words. Salute!
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Thanks Ron – I didn’t think anyone at dVerse would have an issue with the sentiments expressed here!
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Oh how I love this one, Ingrid :D Yes, being poets we do share a love for words, (in my case, phrases) that stop a reader in his tracks. We write to express .. playing with metaphors and similes.. and it is because that we love words that we read another’s 💝 I wouldn’t have it any other way. Wishing you Happy Valentine’s Day in advance :)
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Thank you, Sanaa – you certainly have that gift for creating the perfect phrase! Happy Valentine’s to you also ❤️
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💝💝
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Being a writer and having studied linguistics, I too love words – and I love your poem, Ingrid: the gentle rhymes and the way it shifts from a list poem to the honest statement:
‘I know me better
through words I utter
whether scribbled on paper or typed
doesn’t matter’.
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Thank you, Kim – I think we’re a fine company of logophiles in this community! I actually wish I’d studied linguistics in more depth sometimes…
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Lovely spirit to this poem, I thought Ingrid – thanks for sharing your light…
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You’re most welcome, thank you! 🌟
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This is so delightful! People who take words for granted don’t really understand our passion.
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No, it’s a funny thing isn’t it? How could anyone not be in love with words? Thank you Linda 🙏
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You’re welcome!
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The idea of words as warm bath water is simply delicious!
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I do like a swim in the tub 🤣
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Don’t forget your plastic duck!🙂
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Never!
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😂
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I love these lines:
“these words are mine,
and in darkness they shine”
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I was thinking about Blake’s Chimney Sweeper when I wrote that line: ‘So your chimneys I sweep & in soot I sleep.’
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Well played.
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‘…Play’ is exactly right, Ingrid.
This is the word that year by year,
While in her place the school is set,
Every one of her sons must hear,
And none that hears it dare forget.
This they all with a joyful mind
Bear through life like a torch in flame,
And falling fling to the host behind—
“Play up! play up! and play the game!”‘
Vital Lampada (Henry Newbolt)
[but she knew this of course]
On fire x
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Thank you Nick – I didn’t actually know this poem and I feel suitably ashamed of myself!
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Well, you shouldn’t be.
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I wasn’t ashamed to admit it though 😅 probably missed that lecture – our Victorian Literature teacher was often strung out on his fainting couch and unable to take classes…
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:)
Oh, laudanum!
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‘Spect so…
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:)
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You have expressed just how I feel too! I have a dictionary sitting next to me on my desk. Words fascinate me and how one can string them together into poetry. I admit that sometimes when I have a blank mind as to writing a poem, I randomly open the dictionary and point my finger onto a page. Whatever word my finger lands on I use as a prompt! Doesn’t work all the time but it does challenge my brain to get back into thinking mode. Love your post!
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That sounds like a wonderful idea! Just one or two words can take us off on a journey into the unknown…
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I can’t comment on your poem because I don’t have an account, but I wanted to say, what a moving tribute to a parent’s unconditional love 🙏
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Thank you Ingrid. ❤️
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Yes, a trillion times yes–words matter. That nasty troll Trump showed us the dark side of that reality. We are in a fellowship of words, but more than that, there is love and light weaved into the mix.
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Exactly, we can use them for bad or for good, but they do have power, either way.
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Ingrid, as I read your poem, I imagined you in a dark cave with a gleaming torch, lighting every corner as you walk, as a line of torches light behind you that others are carrying. Beautiful images that light the way.
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What a beautiful imagining! Thank you Lisa 😊🌟
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You are welcome, my friend.
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Ingrid, this has effective word play and you speak out about the importance of writing and how we can know ourselves and the world in a much better way.
I know me better
through words I utter
whether scribbled on paper or typed
doesn’t matter;
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Thank you 🙏
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Love the meter and rhyme, the line breaks are perfection, and the words a treasure. So very special from start to end.
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Thank you, Misky, this means a lot to me!
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So lovely! And I’m right there with you, Ingrid :-)
-David
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Thank you David – somehow I thought you might be! 😊
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A wonderful tribute to ‘words’ and their importance in the journey of life…. I certainly appreciate my ‘words’, after having lost them for a while….
Words of Mine
I’ve given you all, my humble words
I’ve given you, my hidden soul
Words trickling, through cool mountain streams
Words dripping off the frozen ashen trees
Words gliding across the icy lakes
Words of love, drowning in the memory rains
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Such a beautiful poem of yours! The closest I came to losing my words was when we moved to Spain and I couldn’t speak the language, but in the end I ended up with even more words 😊
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Oh, to learn the words of another language would be wonderful..
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yeah yeah,.,(singing) these words are mine… “my bread and butter”. love that.
Wear them on my sleeve, my heart and hands, where I hold the unniverse and the mystery plan.
What a great song to match your words with Ingrid! 👏👏❤️
Whenever I think “Oh I may never have another word to say.. oh know I think… I done writing”..
I laugh cuz they come and go and life brings them to us day by day. Great poem and fun read tonight!
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I have to include that song because the bit about ‘dead poets and a drum machine’ makes me laugh! Yes life always brings us something new to write about: what a blessing! Thanks Cindy 🙏❤️❤️
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Oh it was soo great any way you look at it. God knows we need more laughter.
It is a blessing alright! ❤️❤️
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Are those YOUR hands??? Has to be one of the wordiest, wonderfuliest, wowiest poems ever.
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I’m afraid they’re not my hands, but they do share my sentiments! Thank you Helen 😊
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Ingrid, you are a poet’s poet! Your words say it all about the reality of words. I really loved these lines:
“My light in darkness
in every dim recess
of human unkindness you fear not to go
and so
I know me better
through words I utter
whether scribbled on paper or typed
doesn’t matter;
these words are mine,
and in darkness they shine…”
Words whether their intensity or initial intention, they are impactful. They are weapons to be used if you think about it depending on what we say. The reactions they cause, especially with poetry, can hit right in the heart of it and be so evocative. That’s what I love about words too, and the way we utilize them in darkness or light, that is everything. This is a beautiful and raw poem. I love it so much! <3 <3
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Thank you, Lucy – I’m so pleased you enjoyed it! Indeed we can use words for good or bad, in light or in darkness…
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Ingrid, a fun poem! I too, love to play with words. I have been known, from an early age, to dive into the thesaurus and dictionary for fun.. :) I think it’s a addiction. <3 Have a great weekend!
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I don’t blame you at all: a treasure house of words! Thank you Cheryl 😊 hope you are feeling a bit better ❤️
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I love the tone of this and the rhythm. We do see ourselves more clearly through what we write. (K)
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Thank you, Kerfe 😊
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This could be a fire Rap! I also started to think you were also writing about your son, especially in the starting stanzas, wonderful metaphor anyways, intended or not.
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Thank you, Jay! I didn’t consciously write it about my sons, but the second stanza could be about either of them!
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I enjoyed your poem, easy to read, flows and made me happy.
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Well then it’s a job well done, thank you 😊
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I love this poem–AND words! Lovely. It made me happy, too. 😀
Do you see words in your head?
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Thanks Merril: I don’t see them so much as hear them – not quite synesthesia but still fun! How about you?
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I see some words–I have to know how things are spelled. And they express different things –grey is different from gray. 😀 I see movies in my head when I read though (so does Jane).
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That sounds pretty exciting! Yes I get the same effect when reading a good book…
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“I know me better through words I utter” Yes!!! Great song, I am feeling the poems today! 👏
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Thank you, Tricia – there’s a great selection 😊
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this is ever so sweet, a nice light fun mate for my entry on OLN … as a logophile what more can I say :)
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Ingrid,
A delightful read full or love. It spoke to me and made me smile. Thank you.
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Thank you Ali 🙏
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