Words with Weight

“She had always wanted words, she loved them; grew up on them. Words gave her clarity, brought reason, shape.” ― Michael Ondaatje, The English Patient

“What does the author look like?” asks the little boy at Read Aloud time.

I assume the role of ‘the author,’ stand up, and wave at him with a smile before sitting down.

It is much easier for me to write that I have published a children’s book. But to tell others is something else.

At the library, I am the mother of the 2 children who like to play Tag at Check out. Those 2 children who choose to find something funny and erupt in laughter interrupting the studious and revered silence with punctuated giggles.

Telling librarians or people in real life about my book is challenging for me. Like my character Lailah, I find it hard to get the words out.

But through writing, I find ease, solace, and comfort. It is easier for me to be ‘poised’ in writing. To use the Backspace Button when needed. To edit. But to be poised in real life with words is harder.

Words — You can…

• Release them
• Watch them float away, weightless.
• Modulate them – Hold on to them like Sugar
• Share only a baby spoonful at a time
• Or … Don’t share them at all
• Be stingy with them

Words can be …

• Heavy and once released change the air around you.
• Mixed and Stirred
• Warm
• Chilling
• Evoke Memories
• Erase Dreams
• Build Dreams

I would love to be more poised in real life, to not regret saying so much, or to regret saying so little at times. I always admire those who hold onto their words and when they release their words, their words are listened to, heard, and respected. Their words have a reassuring Weight. Importance.

I’ll attempt poise in real life. But for now, writing will do…

Say, “If the sea were ink for [writing] the words of my Lord, the sea would be exhausted before the words of my Lord were exhausted, even if We brought the like of it as a supplement” – Quran 18:109