Words can be powerful, but most of the time we use them to say bland, everyday things. We clutter our lives with sentences like;
“What’s for dinner tonight?” “What’s on TV?” “Have you seen my missing sock?”
“Do you want ketchup with that?”
But, occasionally we use their power to say much more interesting things. We use words to show our emotions.
“This is the best day of my life.” “I can’t believe it!” “I love you so much.”
“I never want to see you again.”
Some of the best songs, writing and poems capture a multitude of colourful emotions in a handful of verses or lyrics.
A great example is in the song, ‘Headlights On Dark Roads’ by Snow Patrol. I love the first line of the lyric which begins, ‘For once I want to be the car crash. Not always just the traffic jam.’
Or, the first line of the Beatles song, ‘Yesterday,’ – ‘Yesterday all my troubles seemed so far away. Now it looks as though they’re here to stay. Oh, I believe in yesterday.’
Genius in a few words.
My favourite poem is ‘The Listeners’ by Walter de La Mare, which sends chills down the spine with its atmospherically written, otherworldly words. It’s about a man who visits an empty building in a forest. Halfway through are the beautiful words,
‘And he felt in his heart their strangeness
Their stillness answering his cry,’
I would highly recommend the whole poem to you, it’s pure magic.
So, as some of my previous blogs have spoken about being brave and taking a leap, I thought I would do something terrifying and show you one of my poems. It was inspired by a very emotional day in my life when I lost my mum. I rediscovered it on my computer a few days ago and it took me back to that sad moment in my life. I hope you don’t mind me sharing it with you.
Behind the door
by Susannah Hines
Packets of half eaten mints and old bus tickets
In bags piled up with the shoes
Memories on hangers, alone in a wardrobe
For somebody else to remove
Lying alone on the carpet, now speechless
You curl up with no choice, but to sleep
The rings on your fingers are taken, but worthless
Not able to see everyone weep
Behind the door you won’t answer
The door, closed in time
You know it’s your moment to go
With a note to the postman
To say why you stayed home
The curtain falls ending your show
The cup with the drink in the kitchen
The bags which you left by the door
All clues to say when sleep took you
Alone, by yourself on the floor
Behind the door you won’t answer
The door, closed for good
You knew it was your time to go
With your poems on paper
To send us your love
The curtain falls ending your show
S