WORDS
“We encounter each other in words,
words spiny or smooth,
whispered or declaimed,
words to consider, reconsider.”
Dear Hadley,
I have all these videos of you saved to my phone that I play when I’m working or walking or can’t sleep. Your face is a dream, but your little voice is gold.
I’m in awe of the words you choose. The way they fly from your tiny mouth with increasing ease. The way you mix them up and spin them around in whatever way suits your mood. The way they sometimes struggle to keep up with your imagination. The way you say them with confidence even when you know they aren't true. The way you slow them down when you're talking to your sister, and speed them up when you're stalling before bed.
If there’s anything I’ve become increasingly aware of with age it is this: words matter.
Care about them.
And use them with care.
They are power.
Notice the way certain ones stick in your head. Notice the way different ones carry different weights. Notice how some feel strong and sure, how others feel watery and weak.
Discard words that tell the wrong story. Question words that don’t sound like they mean. When your trusty favorites no longer serve you, let them go.
Ignore the rules of grammar and structure. Play with your words, let them dance and twist and be free.
Love the way they hold nuance, the way they hold experience, the way they hold what can't be said. Love the way they sparkle and connect and leap from your lips in surprising new ways.
Here are three that mean more than their small sum of letters suggest:
I love you.
Aunt Liz
