Happy Halloween, readers, poets, and strangers!
A family stopped by twice to say hello when I was typing away on Vox Poplar. I explained the word-poem-concept, and the father, Anthony, said that over dinner his family liked to tell stories based on certain words. I asked them for a word, and they all looked at each other. “Winter?” his daughter suggested. They settled on a Korean word meaning “hello” and “goodbye”—a cycle word.
The Strangers: Anthony Sr, Anthony Jr, Rylee & Ryan
The Word: Anyong
The poem I wrote:
Life goes from green to bright
to white, new to old, life to
life’s end, surprising to true.
It is a waning plot but a good
one, whatever else we make of it.
With each cycle, we say
Anyong twice: hello, goodbye.
Greetings, winter: I will try
to stay long in the sunshine.
The Challenge: Do you have a poem in you on this word? Write one here.
November 1, 2018 at 2:53 pm
Coming and Going
“I don’t know why you say good bye, I say hello.”*
As you read this, 5000 emigrants approach the border do’
To find they are unwelcome. Say that it ain’t so.
Which word am I to use as they come or as they go?
Would it not be useful if both words were the same?
Greetings and farewells eliminating blame?
Aloha! [Hawaiian], Ciao! [Italian], Anyong ![Korean] can be used as this connection
As Szia! [Hungarian], Servus! [Bavarian], Salut! [French] also serve as disconnection.
The closest phrase in English is to wish one a “Good Day.”
Salutations are good wishes. They’re nicer things to say.
Be with God, Be at Peace, or I am at your service,
A wish for some good fortune or anything to not unnerve us.
It’s just plain good manners if it’s one word or if it’s two.
Your Mother probably taught you. It’s something that you knew.
Have you heard of holophrases? A sentence shortened to one word.
We’ve been using them so long the annotation seems absurd.
“Howdy” sounds quite quaint but began as “How do you do?”
Our “Goodbye” is from “God be with ye,” just to name some two.
As those folks approach our border, you can say what says the most.
“Hela, hey, aloha!”* or even “Audios!”
* The Beatles “Hello, Goodbye”
November 3, 2018 at 7:10 am
First Name Only
Young Sarah
Among the seasoned helpless
Seeking solace
From the circuitous path
That is a family in addiction
There is no anyong
As she shares
A story too sad not to be true
Most are silent
Eyes cast downward
No advice is offered
No cure is proffered
Only a circled prayer recited
With a hug until we gather again