An Instrument with Which to Write

 

   As far back into my youth as I remember, I have enjoyed writing. I have sought to create compositions which others would read and then offer in response accolade regarding my creative and grammatical abilities and skills. I sought to be known as a writer, identified and introduced in public as an accomplished artist of well-spoken and enviably-written English.

   Of course, I discovered that fiction, the essay, the biography were far too lengthy and complex a project to which I could submit my patience. And so, the poem seemed a manageable pursuit. My earliest poems were of a simple-rhyme construction, such as:

I seldom meet a girl so fair

As sunlight shines through morning air.

But on occasion as I do

They’re yet not fair quite so as you

 

   I certainly do not mean to insult simple rhyme. I have continued creating such rhyme for pleasure and for mild distraction for myself and a possible reader. One such poem was published in The Lyric during the early 1990s;

 

“Expired Coupon”

I found an expired coupon

There on the hallway floor.

I put it in my pocket,

But did not know what for.

Then later I discovered

A purpose that was fit.

I wrote this simple poem

Upon the back of it.

 

    But I do confess that these simple compositions grew to seem intellectually unsatisfying. And so I began to explore other types of poetry.

    Upon discovery of William Carlos Williams, and specifically three of his poems, “Red Wheelbarrow”, “Plums”, “Between Walls”, I gained a prolonged interest in non-rhyme as an entertaining means of describing and celebrating reality. I sought to imitate Williams, but the skill never developed. The proper inspiration was debilitating by its absence.

Still, I tried with

 

“Penny”

By the yellow curb

in a pool of oil and rainwater

lies a Lincoln-head.

 

An old one for sure,

but nonetheless valued

by a barefoot boy of five.

 

He clutches it tightly

as a prize

he’s won the right to claim.

 

An English teacher commented upon my returned paper “it fails to achieve Williams”.

  

    The search for, and successful use of words that flourish and garnish a sentence with grandiose adornment has caused a sense of pride and achievement within me. Arranging a sentence in fanciful, unexpected grammatical flow has tickled the literate nerve within and prompted its expression without.

    As I matured, I discovered that poetry, fiction, and biography are not the only means by which entertaining language can be delivered. Creativity can adorn even common speech in ordinary settings.

    As pastor of a United Methodist Church I have opportunity to compose sermons peppered with phrases that give flavor to what might otherwise be unpalatable topics. These sermons are an opportunity to deliver such language.

    I enjoy composing birthday greetings. It takes only a moment to spice up an ordinary sentence with an adjective, adverb, or simile. And people are worth such wishes as “May all the cosmic forces of beneficence conspire to create a day fulfilled beyond your highest expectations.” Or, “As God’s muse, you shall today inspire his creative impulse and make the world a better place.”

    I have become satisfied that these everyday, ordinary language opportunities are sufficient to fulfill my interest.

   The most effective instrument with which to write is the inspiration provided by the common, ordinary moments of one’s life. A well-told story, a birthday greeting, a letter to a friend, even an email can become a literary device by which one may flourish and garnish a sentence or paragraph with grandiose adornment.

 For me personally, the ultimate instrument with which to write was presented as a Christmas gift to me by my wife, Sherry Borglum on December 25, 2017. Sherry, observing how I make notes, record observations on the backs of receipts, napkins, and other ephemeral paper medium, gave me a “Fordite” ink-pen. As described by the pen-creator, Bob Belz “ Fordite is a generic name given to accumulative paint layers that were created from the over spray from various manufacturing processes.”

   Sherry knows I am constantly making notes with pen. She knows how much I favor Ford vehicles. And so this gift is quite unique and wonderful.

It shall provide much inspiration by which I may compose, compile or otherwise create sermons, greetings or an exercise in ego-satisfaction with sentences such as "Why settle for one perfectly adequate word when a second superfluous synonym can decorate the sentence with a charming grandiosity, however otherwise useless it may be?"