I just found a poem online [here] by W.S. Merwin titled Losing a Language... and thought it might shed some poetic light on our present discussion about interpersonal communication.
I'm especially haunted by the lines:
and the young have fewer words
many of the things the words were about
no longer exist
the noun for standing in mist by a haunted tree
the verb for I
2 comments:
Is it necessarily bad, though?
"many of the things the words were about/ no longer exist"
For example, I've heard the phrase "get your cotton-picking hands..." and it didn't occur to me until very recently where it was from, because we don't have that anymore.
It sounds to me like Merwin is just a little sentimental. But I guess I'm the youth he's talking about, even though he really stereotypes the youth - personally I don't think it's that we're not listening to our parents, it's that we can't know what they do, because we're from a different time.
It's natural, not to be mourned over.
chq-
Thanks for thoughtfully engaging the poem... it seems as though you've grasped the intricate implications of Merwin's perspectives... and added some keen and provocative questions/comments... (a trademark of yours both online and in person BTW... thanks for making me think:)
The natural is not to be mourned... I'll have to tumble that around some...
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