Words Change the World

/ rothpoetry

IMG_6653 (2)

The good and the traumatic seem to find permanent residence!

Remember, words are important!

They can build up or tear down in a matter of seconds

Remember, words are remembered

Embedded in feelings they lie in our minds

Remember, words have power

Call out those who commit atrocities

Remember, words can bring peace

Offering forgiveness, hope and compromise

Remember, words make a difference

Be careful how you use them

The good and the traumatic seem to find permanent residence!

Today at d’ verse. Sarah asked us to use anaphora, repetition in poetry. She gave us a list of words to choose from and we were to pick one to use as our repetitive word. I wrote this poem this morning after responding to Michele Lee’s post, ( https://myinspiredlife.org/2022/03/26/property-dispute/comment-page-1/#comment-11521) and modified it a little to include the word remember.

This is what Wikipedia says: anaphora (Greek: ἀναφορά, “carrying back”) is a rhetorical device that consists of repeating a sequence of words at the beginnings of neighboring clauses, thereby lending them emphasis.

Join us at: https://dversepoets.com

Photo: Dwight L. Roth

72 thoughts on “Words Change the World”

  1. Dwight, I am most honored that my poem inspired you to write your own. A beautiful response, it is. Insightful lines about the power of words and the repetition of the first and last lines emphasize an important point. Thank you. 🙏🏻✨

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  15. We do need to call out those who commit atrocities. I loved the way you framed your poem with “The good and the traumatic seem to find permanent residence!” Words can really stick.

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply

  18. Pingback: Words Change the World – Joevic Africa

  20. Powerful words about the power of words! Whoever said “sticks and stones may break my bones but words can never hurt me” was a complete idiot. “Remember, words are remembered” – perfect.

    Like

    Reply

  24. Late to the reading and posting too! You’re speaking to the choir, as the saying goes. Words are critically important. I think of slogans and how some work so well and others get taken the wrong way. “Defund the Police” is a perfect example. No one really meant to “defund” the police. But where is the pithy saying for “perhaps it’s time to reevaluate our budgets and policies on training and take some money and put it to mental health and social workers etc”….Or Operation Warp Speed which Trump used to describe his push for a Covid vaccine….and the push worked. But sadly, that phrase caused mistrust by many who said they didn’t trust it because it wasn’t tested enough, etc etc.
    Words matter indeed.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    • Thank you, Lillian, for your thoughtful response. It is amazing how words get twisted and misconstrued. Perhaps that is why there is such division in our country over Right and Left!

      Like

      Reply

Leave a comment