Say What You Need to Say

I think, perhaps, I write too much in metaphor. Even when words dance on the tip of my tongue, I want to convey meaning and tone in addition to content.  I want the reader to feel what is in my heart and understand what is in my mind. So I look for words that might be a common bridge from my experience to yours.

At times, the words are as water droplets, coursing over the falls at Niagara, gushing with an urgency that no force can stop. Even when I know they will flood the bottomlands, possibly killing crops, my nourishment.

Metaphor (and simile, its progeny) are also buffers, shielding me (you?) from the naked vulnerability of my truth. What if, instead, I said: I-am-so-scared-your-absence-will-send-me-into-a-tailspin-and-I-will-lose our connection-and-I-will-not-know-what-to-say-and-even-if-I-do-speak-you-won’t-understand-and-I-will-become-a-bother-and-then-I-fear-you-will-reject-me-in-a-way-that-feels-so-brutal-I-will-want-to-die.

Them be mighty powerful words.

Be who you are and say what you feel because those who mind don't matter and those who matter don't mind.  -Dr Seuss

Words have a magical power. They can bring either the greatest happiness or deepest despair; they can transfer knowledge from teacher to student; words enable the orator to sway his audience and dictate its decisions. Words are capable of arousing the strongest emotions and prompting all mens' actions.  -Sigmund Freud

Say what you need to say –