waterfall,

June 24, 2008 at 8:05 pm | Posted in writing | 26 Comments
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I am becoming addicted to rhyme for some reason, simple singalong rhythms. I don’t know why but here am I, simply put. The sounds of words have always seemed as important as their meaning to me. Each little scribble of symbols neatly grouped has a unity, the way it looks, the sound it makes and the resonance in the brain which is not just meaning but also association. The funny thing is that putting the little conglomerations next to each other brings them to life. Technicians create taxonomies, assonance, alliteration, et al latinisations, all kinds of desperate attempts to rationalise the voodoo. Naming is control they think, haha. But tigers do not cry nor jellyfish converse and noone can explain to me why minor chords sound so sad. Words do not act as simple labels for things. They contain and express energy like little batteries. They organise through origins like beating hearts and lungs and stand between the splash of me and the rest of the universe. Inspiration, conspiracy, aspirates and ullulations. Language and breathing have intimate relations and for me words and life are so inextricably interwoven that I sometimes mistake the one for the other in this wondrous jumble I call mind, which I don’t, most of the time, mind that is, he says, stepping out into the sunlight from under this strange cascade,

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  1. Ah, I get to post first this am…Lovely write..I’m going to keep this for myself for a bit…;)
    Thanks, Tina, 😉

    Comment by Tina Trivett— June 24, 2008 #

  2. I have never heard anyone put into words (ironic that) so succinctly exactly how i feel about the magic of words. how the power of their rhythm, their sound phonetically is a fiery beauty all in its own. The nuances that can make you gasp in awe as a single line of compiled characters squeezes the heart. Brilliantly communicated Paul. You do have a way.. with words even.
    Only with words, I am afraid, Lakota, absolutely hopeless with everything else, thanks,

    Comment by Lakota— June 24, 2008 #

  3. it’s early so forgive me. most of the wise words here are flying above my head. i love that line about tigers, jellyfish, and minor chords sounding so sad. simple singalong rhythms sound good to me.
    Me too, I will forgive you of course, Lissa, especially since you are studying so hard. Are you winning?

    Comment by lissa— June 24, 2008 #

  4. Ah, the genius continues to dig deeper into the labyrinth. Yes, meanings and sounds together, the whole is more than the sum of the parts. This was a beautiful post, the ending typifying it as yours, and the middle reminding me of Jean Paul Sartre’s take on words in What Is Literature?. Not the same take, but I got reminded of it nonetheless.
    Wonderful.

    I have not been finding wordpress.com very comfortable. It feels to me too public a place for me to shed my words without inhibitions. Not that shedding my words produces anything comparable to your creative beauty.
    But anyhow, I am thence in the process of making another small dwelling place of my own on the internet. I’ll let you know when it’s done. And am thinking that a part of it can be a collaborative effort, an online take on opening closed eyes. Something like The Orchid Room. Tell me what you think about that?
    Thanks, Sumedh. I answered you over at your own place. I will follow whereever you go.

    Comment by Nischiz— June 24, 2008 #

  5. Wonderous jumble indeed…
    thanks, oh great and might queen,

    Comment by Queen of the Universe— June 25, 2008 #

  6. is it odd that i am feeling hungry while reading your piece? i liked this: “inspiration, conspiracy, aspirates and ullulations.”
    There is a lot of food in your writing lately, Aefiel. It is a little odd that this made you hungry though, maybe it was the jelly fish,

    Comment by aefiel— June 25, 2008 #

  7. so here I am, again, in this world that refuses to end;
    Ahh, Sumedh, I answered you question over at your place. We are chasing each others tales again. There are no endings just as there was no beginning,

    Comment by Sumedh— June 25, 2008 #

  8. oops; the link hasn’t updated on my name. But here it is:
    http://www.drippingvanilla.com/
    Okey dokey. I shall adjust feeds and linkages again. You are hard to keep up with.

    Comment by Sumedh— June 25, 2008 #

  9. Brilliant and true, every word. You know my theories and you know how I like the shape as well as the sound and the resonance and suchlike. I still say pom-pom is the most beautiful word that no-one can resist… this piece made me very happy indeed.
    Yayay, making you happy makes me happy, pom pom,

    Comment by Mary P— June 25, 2008 #

  10. lovely rollercoaster ride…
    ~ stepping out into the sunlight from under this strange cascade, ~ I can see the words falling
    Thanks, Kristine, ‘lunatique boutique’ makes me smile, it is a very cool phrase,

    Comment by Kristine ~ La Lunatique— June 25, 2008 #

  11. Do you think words are alive maybe? Vibrations of thought, why not?
    I think they come alive when they interact, why not? They come alive when you read them in your videos too,

    Comment by mariacristina— June 25, 2008 #

  12. you struck a chord with me dear internet friend.
    you’ve sung a portion of my heart i have well-memorized; my heart in its majority. for acknowledging the fun in rhyme and for giving words their due power, thank you.
    No, thankyou, Mrs Ott, how long have we known each other now, seems like years and years,

    Comment by mrs. sarah OTT.— June 25, 2008 #

  13. It’s a little frightening but I really like the way your mind works.
    Annie
    Haha, I am about as frightening as a picnic, thanks Annie.

    Comment by writerchick— June 25, 2008 #

  14. Technicians’ taxonomies provide a hidden doorway into the magic of poetry that was always invisible to me, making it visible. I for one need that sense of systematic control to learn. You, however, are a natural. You play by ear. As for the intimacy of language and breathing, don’t forget the all-importance of the tongue.
    There’s no harm in being a technician, Gloria, I admire anyone with the patience and selfdiscipline. Oh yes, the tongue is most important, and the lips too.

    Comment by writer reading— June 25, 2008 #

  15. how about a picnic under a waterfall? that could be frightening. a picnic behind a waterfall would be lovely and we could just string together words that delight us and we’d have delightful pompom poems
    It would be messy, water would get in your wine, a behind the waterfall picnic sounds a delight,

    Comment by artpredator— June 25, 2008 #

  16. *wild applause*

    and a water-falling upward smile
    thankyou, the smile is beautiful, water falling upward,

    Comment by Shell— June 26, 2008 #

  17. “Words do not act as simple labels for things. They contain and express energy like little batteries. They organise through origins like beating hearts and lungs and stand between the splash of me and the rest of the universe.”

    They are like stars signaling an idea an event. i really enjoyed this. I just finished reading Jeanette Winterson’s The Stone Gods and your piece reminds me of it.
    I haven’t read it but I will keep an eye out. Books tend to choose me rather than the other way, just fall out of the sky synchronicitously. How was your holiday?

    Comment by cocoyea— June 26, 2008 #

  18. now that was fun… it is another freefall dance through the places where words and emotions dwell way past midnight… not until i started writing in earnest.. what was i writing previously… did words thoughts emotions collide in unison with a loud splash.. liked the way you used splash in there.. why not.. thought i would too…*smile* … then thrz punctuation which is just as exciting… the lack of or overuse which enfringes upon the thoughts… something like eecummings… or lies at the edge, as sleeping in the hot sun… maybe it was that english teacher who would not let up until i punctuated it exactly as she required.. it’s all part of that outside the lines rebel mentality that makes one tick… or tock.. great piece!
    Thankyou, you write the most amazing comments, each one you could post as a piece of pie itself, it is great happiness to come here and see these wonderful sparkles of word joy everywhere, thankyou,

    Comment by pieceofpie— June 26, 2008 #

  19. Sigh, do you try and make us fall in love with you?

    I wrote a post just now in an attempt to express things such as these, and here you are, you have expressed it so vividly it makes me want to weep.

    “They contain and express energy like little batteries. They organise through origins like beating hearts and lungs and stand between the splash of me and the rest of the universe.”
    Ah Paul… 🙂
    Thanks, Simonne, I always look forward to your comments, coming from a writer as wonderful as you they are extra precious.

    Comment by Simonne— June 26, 2008 #

  20. All the magic that formed the worlds came from a single breath and the Pnuma filled the universe with a pulse of harmony and a signature of hope. That life is breath is no mystery but that life came from breath and every word ever uttered followed is a bit more to digest. There must be magic in words, the power of life and death is in the tongue, so it has always been from kings to rogues like me.
    F.G! That’s a lovely piece of writing. How’s it all going over your place. I will go look now,

    Comment by Fabian G. Franklin— June 26, 2008 #

  21. Language is music and rhythm. Just as the birds 🙂
    Long time, mate. Hope you’re well.
    Harmonie, hellooo again, I am well, extra well to hear your wonderful voice again,

    Comment by harmonie22— June 28, 2008 #

  22. you’ve a much better relationship with words than I. Constantly at odds are we
    especially concerning how they should be spelled
    Ha, sometimes it is more like a battleground than a waterfall, that’s for sure, I’m a bit stuck at the moment, actually. Glad to see you back, Ozzy,

    Comment by ozymandiaz— June 29, 2008 #

  23. The way you relate the feelings of saddness behind a minor chord and how words fit together to make a whole that illicits feelings is magic. I always expect to find magic on your site and always do. “Waterfall” is the perfect example. You’ve managed to nail down something that can’t be nailed. The magician, the master of words…Always in awe of your talent. – Mimi.
    Thanks Mimi, what a wonderful friend you are.

    Comment by Mimi— June 29, 2008 #

  24. This one if a flawless write-up indeed! The way you have interlinked the significance of language with feelings and life is truly fabulous. You deserve that nick name “Magician”
    Thankyou, (this link goes to an online tech shop)

    Comment by Jabra— July 1, 2008 #

  25. very beautiful writing and thoughts – I love the sound of words too,
    thankyou, that is a very very cool giraffe poem of yours, Juliet,

    Comment by Crafty Green Poet— July 4, 2008 #

  26. Hear hear! Gorgeously put 🙂 !!!!

    Comment by Mental Mist— July 6, 2008 #


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