What good is the clamour of words thrown out to impress
or the bellow of the clanging gong or tinkling symbol
sounding out of tune with the orchestra’s flow?
Some may think me elementary or naive
to avoid these honeyed poetics, thinking these embellishments
make one sound like a tempestuous wordsmith pounding out
words hot off the anvil of a thesaurus, full of absurdities.
No, for me I prefer the simple words of the common man
to the dribble of gibberish filling up empty lines yet saying nothing.
Give me words with tonal resonance that embellish the soul
Raising my spirit or challenging my thoughts, elevating me
to a level of poetic ecstasy… without abstract distraction.
***
Laura at d’Verse, shared that Tuesday was National Thesaurus Day. Many writers and poets love to use it to embellish their work! She asked us to:
Write a SOUND POEM which includes AT LEAST ONE from EACH of the FIVE HEARING CATEGORY SELECTIONS below: (reference the hearing words you chose in your post).
- bellow; clink; drone; jingle; quiver;
- clamour; dissonant; rip-roaring; tempestuous; vociferous;
- dulcet: honeyed; poetic; sonorous; tonal;
- blabber; cackle; dribble; gurgle; seethe;
- beseech; chant; drawl; embellish; intone
As you can see from my poem, I am not a big fan of the Thesaurus, so I wrote this tongue in cheek Ode to make my point. I get bogged down in words that are more for show than for content. It distracts from both reading and thought for me. This may help to explain my simple form or writing.
Join us at: https://dversepoets.com
As we composition teachers tell our students, “Kid, back away from the thesaurus. Back away now. Just back away.” Oh, the agony of having to read and grade a paper that was the result of thesaurus-hunting. *shudder*
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Ha ha! I can imagine! That is how I feel about some poetry I read.
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I’ve encountered that type of poetry myself. Give me the red wheelbarrow wet with rain.
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:>) :>)
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Oh man, it’s true some people get a bit of an addiction to this book going. I like your cover, how you know your style, and that the treasures inside this book are “not for you.” I like to think of it as a good spice, something to make the perfect dish is used with a steady hand. Cheers.
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Yes, and too much spice can ruin the dish. Just enough makes it superb!
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Great analogy!
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Very true. Here’s to creating and tasting to find the best recipes 😉
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Yes!!
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Excellent job with the prompt, Dwight! Your poem made me laugh, remembering students who overused a thesaurus for their papers. A great tool, but writing should be natural, not overembellished.
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Yes, I agree completely! You want to express yourself, not the thesaurus! I am glad it made you smile! :>)
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Some very good points here Dwight. I have never used a Thesaurus for writing but I do use a dictionary and sometimes Google! But mostly the ‘write stuff’ comes from within.
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Thank you so much. I am with you on this. That is how I function as well!
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Oh yes!! This resonated with me:”Give me words with tonal resonance that embellish the soul.” I soooo agree!!👍🏽
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Yes… Thank you Jan!!
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Yes. In the wrong hands, a thesaurus can be a dangerous thing, spewing words that are off key.
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You are right and that does not ring true when you read it.
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I agree with you, Dwight. Like Hemingway said:
‘I know the ten-dollar words. There are older and better words which if you arrange then in the proper combination you make it stick.’
I also like the reference to 1 Corinthians 13. I think this was originally written in the Greek koine, or ‘common language,’ so it certainly seems appropriate here!
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Thank you so much for your wonderful comment, Ingrid. I agree with Hemmingway. I am glad you caught my Biblical reference as well. I thought it had such good sound images to it!
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spot on Dwight – “without abstract distraction.” – one of poetry’s pitfalls
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Thank you so much Laura! Distractions really do ruin a good piece of poetry!
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Wonderfully said, Dwight! Poetry writing doesn’t need a thesaurus but that said I find a thesaurus a great companion.
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Thank you very much! Yes, it is helpful at time.
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You are welcome.
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Reblogged this on The Reluctant Poet.
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Reblogged this on Art, Music, Photography, Poetry and Quotations.
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Oh, so true. A great piece of writing. Much enjoyed.
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Thank you so much, Goff! I appreciate your comment.
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Pleasure. Happy Poetry. Happy Blogging.
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Your words tell me that you’re a person of feeling and spiritual meaning. The world needs more of this character, we could do without abstract distractions.
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Yes, very much so. Thank you for your insightful comment. Distractions to me take the beauty out of poetry.
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This is beautifully executed, Dwight 😀 I especially like; “Give me words with tonal resonance that embellish the soul.”💝💝
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Thank you, Sanaa. If words don’t resonate, they are just empty symbols! I appreciate your kind words.
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The pen knows what’s in the writer’s heart.
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Yes, I agree!
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I agree with you totally Dwight, as much as thesaurus is great there is also beauty is simple words and sometimes we can connect more on the emotions of that simplicity.
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Yes! Thank you so much Daphny!
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You’re most welcome!
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I know, right??? I agree to the hilt, my friend.
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Thank you so much!
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Excellent warning to not go overboard with what I call flambiosity!!! Sometimes simplicity is best 🙂
Hope to see you at dVerse LIVE today for OLN. I’m hosting…so consider this a personal invitation. Just go to dVerse for OLN as usual, at 3 or between 3 and 4 PM Boston time, the link is there. Hope to see you. Consider this a personal invitation!
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Thank you so much Lillian for your kind invitation to the OLN. However, I work at Habitat Restore on Tuesday and Thursday afternoons each week, fixing their broken items. On occasion I skip work if there is not much to work on. Again, thank you!
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I think some usage of thesaurus is great, but we may hunt for better words I think… I am not really a logophile, but finding new words is always fun.
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Thanks for your comment!
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I like for $10 words to be used in a context that gives a clue to their meaning. If you have to look up too many words, you lose the flow of reading. Like your poem and your illustration, Dwight! ❤
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Thank you, Cheryl! Yes, if the meaning is clear, they work well. The book illustration came from my classroom many years ago.
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I know I am a few months behind here, Dwight; but this is a great poem. I enjoy it a lot! I caught that biblical reference, too; and even the (inadvertent?) pun with the tinkling ‘symbol.’ That really works, since words are, in fact, symbols! I dig that illustration, too; terrific graphics. Thank you for writing and sharing. ~Ed.
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Thank you so much, Ed. I am glad you picked up on the inferences and symbols. Yes, that was a set of biblical sound words that fit very well into what I wanted to say. I really appreciate your comment and kind affirmation.
Dwight
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