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Common Currency
There’s little written that cannot be said
in some way that misunderstands or read
as was not meant to be. There’s little heard
that’s taken just as meant. There is no word
confined by edges—words are not like coins,
though valued nonetheless; they don’t enjoin
some measured comprehension. They are soft
and pliable though certain at the core;
their boundaries alter, and they tender more
or less dependent on a stress or tone
of voice. Their meanings do not stand alone
but vary with the company they keep
and also with the context: said in sleep?
In jest, in anger, sorrow, or in answer?
Meaning can’t sit still; she is a dancer.
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Peter Duff was born and lives in Blackrock, Dublin, Ireland. When not practising law he writes poetry and plays drums. Peter has won second place twice at the Poetry on the Lake Festival in Orta, Italy. More of his poems can be viewed on his website www.dailypoem.net.
This is wonderful and then the last line comes along and transcends everything that went before. The coin twirls on its edge.
A profound piece that says much about the tools of the wordsmith’s trade.
Peter,
I love this well-articulated analysis of words as our common, yet not so common, currency. The softness and pliability, the altering boundaries — these are in turn both the frustration and the beauty of language. Like Monika, I think your final line is fantastic.
So true, and the last line is a real treat. I enjoy this poem, thank you.
Peter, you have captured the wicked wonder of words beautifully in a poem that taps into the linguistic twists and turns of our “common currency” eloquently and cleverly. Meaning really is a “dancer”… especially in divisive days of spin where everyone is led a merry lingual dance. Thank you!
The dance of meaning is a beautiful thing.
“Though certain at the core,” it enables much more to appear than a speaker or writer may have intended. Peter, you begin the poem by considering intent and the possibility of misunderstanding, but dance on into the expansive potential of words, for which I am usually grateful. The best word may be the one with the most meaning. You offer a good reminder to listeners and readers as well as to speakers and writers. Unless one is a determined know-nothing, value meaning! I appreciate the “soft” touch at line 7, re-shaping what would otherwise be a rhymed couplet sonnet.
Lovely poem, especially the very end line.
Thank you all for your kind, perceptive and encouraging responses! Peter
Great work on this one. I enjoyed the way the sentences were broken up with most not ending at the end of a line. As I’ve learned from the experts on this site, there is probably a name for that form of writing and if there isn’t, there should be.
You’re right Warren, it’s “enjambment.” Peter