At three in the morning

It awakens him at three in the morning,

first with the flash of anxiety edged

with panic, then the dark, rainy gray

of resignation. He moves his hand,

touching the cold sheets next to him,

cold when he wants the warmth

of what he knew. The laughter

that was has fled, leaving a dismal

silence to create its own vacuum,

its own void of memory. He considers

the possibility that it is he who lies

buried in the white coffin.

This poem is submitted to the One Word Blog Carnival hosted by Peter Pollock, and the word today is grief.

It is also submitted to Open Link Night at dVerse Poets. The links will be live at 2 p.m. Central time today.

Photograph by Petr Kratochvil via Public Domain Pictures. Used with permission.

My One Word Isn’t

I’d been seeing a lot of blog posts – a LOT of blog posts – about “one word for 2013.” It’s an idea, organized by someone so far back in the viral chain that they’re probably not identifiable, to select one word as your “word” for the year, and then blog about it.

I’ve seen so many posts about “one word” that I think I’ve been caught up in a permanent online flash mob.

But, I persevered. I thought I had safely dodged this, when I received an email from Bonnie Gray at Faith Barista, who’s been away from blogging for a time for personal reasons and is now writing again. And Bonnie asked me to consider linking up today, using the theme “one word.”

Quandry. Angst. Anxiety. I was so pleased that Bonnie’s back among the blogging.  But could I take the plunge into the flash mob?

And even if I could, could I choose only one word, one word that would somehow summarize my plans and goals, hopes and dreams, for the year? And even if I could somehow pull that off, could I find a word that wasn’t like everyone else’s?

To give you an idea of what’s already been taken and written about: faith, hope, love, encourage, plan, joy, write, rejoice, worship, excite, race, excel, achieve, publish (a lot of writers are doing this), engage, involve, serve, diet (this might have been my favorite one-word post), lose, gain, soar – I think you see the problem. What’s left are words like survive, subsist, meander, complain, and procrastinate.

Yes, I could use a word that’s already been taken, but that’s not very original. Anything I might say would be additive at best. I mean, after you’ve read five different writers on “encourage,” it’s all pretty much been said, in an encouraging way, of course.

I pondered. Could I find one word that encapsulated all my hopes, and even my fears, for 2013? Could I find one word so encompassing that people, including me, would be amazed and dazzled?

I’m not sure about the amazement and the dazzling, but I did think of a word.

One word – one word that includes everything. One word that will tell you everything you need to know. One word that includes every goal, hope, dream, concern, issue, fear, desire and aspiration that I have for 2013.

And not only that, but I haven’t seen anyone else claim it. Perhaps it is too big an idea. Perhaps some considered it and turned away with a shudder.

But never to stop where angels fear to tread, I can confidently claim my all-encompassing word for 2013.

And the word -- my one word for 2013 that includes everything -- is dictionary.


To see more posts on "one word," please visit Bonnie Gray at Faith Barista.

Photograph by Daniel Pellati via PublicDomain Pictures. Used with permission. I knew my one word was somewhere in that pile of paper.