The Power of Words
The month of April marks the beginning of a poetry unit with my sixth graders. Poetry is a love of mine and the scattered, accidental moments of combined words of beauty by seemingly salty teenagers can move me deeply.
I suppose this comes as no surprise to me as the power of language has always shifted the earth below my feet and caused me to search more critically for the connections I yearn for, connections between words, beauty, experience, emotion, humanity.
I stumbled upon a question the other day by a most lovely poet and theologist, Padraig O’Tuama. He asked his readers to share one sentence that they have heard, spoken, or read that has remained present in their minds over time. Below is my response to Padraig followed by a new sentence I heard just yesterday morning. Both serve as a pinprick of immense joy, light, and hope for me.
Tyler
There are many sentences that I have heard and subsequently carried with me over the years, but this is one of the most beautiful, simple, and innocent ones from twenty five years ago.
The child who whispered the words to me then would be 31 years old now and I am certain that he has no idea how often his words continue to touch my heart.
I was teaching first grade and we were working through our poetry unit, my very favorite topic to teach. My students had been instructed to write a poem in any form they chose about something that was beautiful to them. The single criteria upon which they were to be measured was to include as many ‘describing’ words as they could.
A beautiful blue-eyed, golden-headed boy sat silently weeping at his table. I approached him quietly and lowered myself to kneel beside him. I asked him if he needed help, if he was alright.
He looked up at me with those saucer-sized eyes pooling with tears and he said, “I’m writing about the light. About the lemon yellow light. But it’s too beautiful for any other words.”
Lemon yellow light.
Lemon. Yellow. Light.
I cannot count how many times since then that I have looked toward the sun or a reflection upon water or a glistening mist through the leaves of a tree and thought, “There. Lemon yellow light. How lucky am I to see it.”
And he was right. No other words were needed.
The Beat of Joy
I was finishing my walk with my sweet pup Annie yesterday morning when we approached a row of cars in the parking lot of my apartment. We were nearly home and I was rushing a bit to get off to work. Our stroll had been quiet and peaceful and sweetly damp with the morning air and the approaching rumble from a vehicle ahead was not quite welcome to my serene senses.
I noticed two women, one a young adult and the other a slightly hunched elderly woman, both bustling around the four open doors of the compact car, moving boxes and bags around in preparation of their departure. The beat coming from their stereo was the rumble I had heard and as I drew closer the sound took shape and form and familiarity as it became music.
I’m always fascinated by how three notes or a bar of music is able to transport you to a precise moment in time decades ago while simultaneously etching a smile upon your face and at the corners of your eyes where it had not been three beats earlier.
As I came to pass in front of the hood of her busy Corolla, my eyes connected with the older woman who was faintly smiling with a slightly toothless preoccupation. I nodded at her, speaking my first human words of the day and said, “Old school." Her faint smile shattered into a full-faced, eyes-glistening, eruption of light as she softly shouted, “Good for your soul!”
And then, she blew me a kiss.
I have lived in my apartment for nearly six years and never had such a sweet and simple and warm and joy-filled exchange with another human. The innocence and humanity of this momentary connection filled my heart with a tangible elation that lifted the soles of my feet and quite literally carried me throughout the whole of my day.
“Good for your soul!” I wonder if she felt it too.
Moments of Light
Whether it’s three eloquent words linked together by the sweetness of a child or Biz Markie blasting from a parked car by an old woman with a sparkling joy that she shares with passing early morning strangers, it is these moments of light that fill me, that feed my soul. I am hungry for more of these moments, but I am content with the warm, full-belly feeling of these two today.
More Moments
Single moments of joy are perfectly pure pieces to inspire self-reflection or reflection for others, whether in their minds or on paper. From these two moments of light I may consider these prompts or questions:
*What one sentence will you never forget?
*What silent exchange with another human touched you deeply?
*What action from a stranger is most memorable to you?
*What feeds your soul?
This is so beautifully written, Nicole. You eloquently capture the double gift of these moments of light. You remind us to simply appreciate the beauty of the moment - the lemon yellow light or feeling of goodness all the way to your soul. On another level, though, you also remind us that we have the option to move through our lives differently. Even if it's just for a moment, we can slow down, be more present, and look for moments of light. Such a lovely idea to start my day!