Melting Snow

Midweek Reflections on Words and Poetry

‘Idál (Justice), 3 Jalál (Glory) 175 B.E. - Wednesday, April 11, 2018

Word of the day fufu, which is defined as a "dough made from boiled and ground plantain or cassava, used as a staple food in parts of West and central Africa."1 All my life, I have heard people use this word in the wrong context, such as "fufu juice" or "wash the fufu out of your hair" (referring to glitter after a New Year's Eve party). My experience with this word proves that poets and other writers need to look unusual words when they hear them so that they can use them in the right context with the proper meaning.

Poets look for the right word
to complete a poem;
sometimes the word is easy to find,
but at other times
it is extremely difficult.

My Favorite Word:
Serenity2

Serenity is my favorite word because of the way it resonates in my mind. Thinking of the word serenity, pronouncing it mentally, letting its consonants and vowels flow from axon to dendrite and then from dendrite to axon--like an echo reverberating through my brain--evokes a feeling of oneness with the rest of the universe. Speaking serenity aloud, intoning it slowly as I would a mantra induces a feeling of timelessness and harmony--like on a warm calm ocean as the tide carries me to paradise.

Synonyms: calm, composed, serene, tranquil, unruffled, placid.

Footnotes
1  https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/fufu/?utm_source=wotd-english&utm_m...
2  The beginning of an essay or a prose poem I started a few years ago.