listen to quiet
of blood in veins,
gentle thump of heart.
pulsating brain synapses
diaphanous consciousness,
lucid lens layered across
the everything.
some languages
do not have
definite or indefinite
articles, why am i
being pulled apart
choosing whether to say:
give me the truth
give me a truth
give me truth.
Showing posts with label language. Show all posts
Showing posts with label language. Show all posts
October 28, 2021
301/365
May 11, 2021
131/365
memory is fiction.
soft-hearted echos,
indulgent mementos,
kept in envelopes
kept in folders
kept in boxes
in closets,
fettered to
repetitive recollections
that make the faded past
indelible.
bearable.
real.
that happened:
the stories
keep you apprised,
filling in the blanks
with manufactured
tracts of reality,
like reliable
rumour.
testimony.
confession.
there are not too many things
more meagre than language,
trying to reveal
this self:
inside and out.
April 7, 2021
97/365
the bankruptcy
of language
is most evident
in translation.
how else can the
rents of human experience
be recognised
when there are words for
some things
in some languages
and not in others.
kecel is such
a word in Farsi:
bored, lethargic, inertia, inactivity, inaction, slowness, torpor, torpidity, lifelessness,
dullness, listlessness, languor, languidness, stagnation, laziness, idleness, indolence,
shiftlessness, sloth, phlegm, apathy, passivity, ennui, weariness, tiredness, lassitude, fatigue,
sleepiness, drowsiness, enervation, somnolence.
Even all these words
don’t get it just right,
or maybe they do—
i’ve been feeling
too kecel all day long
to think about it
too deeply.
March 10, 2021
69/365
discipline.
consequence.
punishment.
trying to translate
these words
for a frustrated mother
across a google meet
when I barely
understand them
in english,
this morning
was a challenge
that felt mission
aligned.
working toward peace
is the process of
unpacking language.
discussing concepts.
the work of peace
is not done in global summits
or government buildings.
it is done everyday
by everyone one of us
in every interaction.
listen.
deescalate.
compromise.
September 21, 2016
Potty Mouth
Set Scene: Morning. Early. Still dark outside. Two kids in their pajamas sit at the breakfast table barely awake. Their hair is a mess and their eyes barely open. They will eat some veggie sausage, fruit, toast and a calcium supplement. Chocolate flavoured. Their dad is sitting at the table making sure that they are able to eat this simple meal in the 30 mins that have been allotted to the eating of breakfast. Some mornings this is a battle. Some days it is fine.
The dad holds a guitar and fiddles with some chords. A little riff from some Pearl jam song. It is soft and in the background. After several minutes of quiet and chewing, the girls are more awake. They younger one, aged six, begins to talk. Her name is Skye. The father will be known as dad.
S- You know the songs you put on my bedtime playlist have bad words in them.
D- Not all of them only a few.
S- Well one of them says the F-word. I heard it last night.
The child is referring to the a Spotify playlist called Mellow Breakfast Tunes that the family has now begun to use as lullaby music for the younger child. It includes such artists as Ben Harper, Gillian Welch, Cloud Cult and more. The song to which is she is referring is called Broadripple is Burning by Margot and The Nuclear So and Sos. The lines in questions are:
And don't fucking move,
'Cause everything you thought you had will go to shit.
We've got a lot.
Don't you dare forget that.
D- Well there are really no such things as “bad words.” There are words that are inappropriate at certain times by certain people, but no word is bad just by itself. For example if I use a harsh word to make someone feel bad or if I use it to attack someone, then this is a bad word and should not be used. Or if I do not know what a word means, and I do not know its power and by using it might really hurt someone’s feelings than it is probably a pretty bad word.
That is why kids shouldn’t use these words, because you don’t know what they mean and can’t understand their power. So you can really hurt people. Beside it sounds rude to use inappropriate language in front of others.
Adults know what the words mean and we know when to use them, so for us they are not ever really bad words. I love those words. I use them quite often in the right settings.
S- But is it okay for me to hear them in songs?
D- I don’t think it is bad. You will grow into them. I don’t want you to use them until you are ready, but I don't think it will kill you to hear them. I don’t want you to use them at school, in front of your friends or teachers, for all the reasons we talked about, because I want you to respect their power.
The older child is slowly eating, just listening, which is rare for her. She considers how she is on the threshold of this new power and wonders when she might begin to grow out of the S-Word and into shit.
D- Sometimes kids Kaia's age feel special or rebellious when they use these words on the playground or among their friends, but really they too should wait for a few years before they can really use them correctly and understand their full meaning and power.
The dad looks to see if his little side note was received. The older child looks up and acknowledges his words.
The family finishes breakfast, takes their showers and make it to school on time.
…
For the record, I have a post about #blacklivesmatter, the national anthem fiascos, #terrycutcher and more, but I am waiting for my anger to subside a bit so I am not writing from a reactionary point of view.
Oh and that whole Skittles thing is so insanely infuriating it makes you want to swear your head off.
…
Had a healthy run today. Got up to about 8km and felt pretty good for the first half. Still walking a lot, but feeling fresher than before. I am almost didn’t go, but I am so glad I did. Running is always better then not running.
The dad holds a guitar and fiddles with some chords. A little riff from some Pearl jam song. It is soft and in the background. After several minutes of quiet and chewing, the girls are more awake. They younger one, aged six, begins to talk. Her name is Skye. The father will be known as dad.
S- You know the songs you put on my bedtime playlist have bad words in them.
D- Not all of them only a few.
S- Well one of them says the F-word. I heard it last night.
The child is referring to the a Spotify playlist called Mellow Breakfast Tunes that the family has now begun to use as lullaby music for the younger child. It includes such artists as Ben Harper, Gillian Welch, Cloud Cult and more. The song to which is she is referring is called Broadripple is Burning by Margot and The Nuclear So and Sos. The lines in questions are:
And don't fucking move,
'Cause everything you thought you had will go to shit.
We've got a lot.
Don't you dare forget that.
D- Well there are really no such things as “bad words.” There are words that are inappropriate at certain times by certain people, but no word is bad just by itself. For example if I use a harsh word to make someone feel bad or if I use it to attack someone, then this is a bad word and should not be used. Or if I do not know what a word means, and I do not know its power and by using it might really hurt someone’s feelings than it is probably a pretty bad word.
That is why kids shouldn’t use these words, because you don’t know what they mean and can’t understand their power. So you can really hurt people. Beside it sounds rude to use inappropriate language in front of others.
Adults know what the words mean and we know when to use them, so for us they are not ever really bad words. I love those words. I use them quite often in the right settings.
S- But is it okay for me to hear them in songs?
D- I don’t think it is bad. You will grow into them. I don’t want you to use them until you are ready, but I don't think it will kill you to hear them. I don’t want you to use them at school, in front of your friends or teachers, for all the reasons we talked about, because I want you to respect their power.
The older child is slowly eating, just listening, which is rare for her. She considers how she is on the threshold of this new power and wonders when she might begin to grow out of the S-Word and into shit.
D- Sometimes kids Kaia's age feel special or rebellious when they use these words on the playground or among their friends, but really they too should wait for a few years before they can really use them correctly and understand their full meaning and power.
The dad looks to see if his little side note was received. The older child looks up and acknowledges his words.
The family finishes breakfast, takes their showers and make it to school on time.
…
For the record, I have a post about #blacklivesmatter, the national anthem fiascos, #terrycutcher and more, but I am waiting for my anger to subside a bit so I am not writing from a reactionary point of view.
Oh and that whole Skittles thing is so insanely infuriating it makes you want to swear your head off.
…
Had a healthy run today. Got up to about 8km and felt pretty good for the first half. Still walking a lot, but feeling fresher than before. I am almost didn’t go, but I am so glad I did. Running is always better then not running.
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