Words

Mary O' Neill 

Children's Writer and Poet

February 16, 1906 - January 2, 1990

One of Mary O' Neill's most popular book, Hailstones and Halibut Bones  (1961), identifies and interprets the spectrum of colors through verse. February 10th's posting featured her poem What is Red?

She is a master at using rhythmic words to convey feelings. The format of this poem from the book The Random House Book of Poetry for Children  conveys the power of word choice.
                                                               Feelings About Words

Some words clink 

As ice in drink

Some move with grace

A dance, a lace.

Some sound thin:

Wail, scream and pin.

Some words are squat:

A mug, a pot,

And some are plump,

Fat, round and dump.

Some words are light :

Drift, lift and bright.

A few are small:

A, is and all.

And some are thick,

Glue, paste and brick.

Some words are sad:

"I never had..."

And others gay:

Joy, spin and play.

Some words are sick:

Stab,scratch and nick.

Some words are hot:

Fire, flame and shot.

Some words are sharp, 

Sword, point and carp.

And some alert:

Glint, glance and flirt.

Some words are lazy:

Saunter, hazy.

And some words preen:

Pride,pomp, and queen.

Some words are quick, 

A jerk, a flick.

Some words are slow:

Lag, stop and grow,

While others poke

As ox with yoke

Some words can fly-

There's wind, there's high;

And some words cry:

"Goodbye...

Goodbye..."

by Mary O" Neill

While some poets can write at great length about words, some poets on the subject are brief.

A Word

A word id dead

When it is said, 

Some say.

I say it just

Begins to live 

That day.

by Emily Dickinson 

And on a different take... the absence of words here are some of my own lines 

Silence
empty spaces

between the words.

Silence 
speaks volumes.

Silence 
watches,listens,waits

for that moment 

where words

make a difference.

Kudos to you :) for making it through all these words. I made a plate of chocolate chip cookies just for you. Stay warm!