Morning Delights

Morning Delights

Dear Friend:

This morning I took my car out for a drive in the countryside. The weather was splendid. I rolled down the windows. Fresh air rushed in and I felt rejuvenated with an upsurge of oxygen. The Spanish-language radio station played one of my favorite songs. And right away, I felt alive, happy, and even a bit ecstatic. I have always been a slave of sound. Sound affects my mood. And I thought of the piece on the subject of to be or not to be in sync. After I wrote it, I was stunned. I knew I had hit on something. (I felt the same way the night I finished writing the poem Laura in French). However, I expected the members of the forum would meet my piece with their usual stunned silence. So, your kind words surprised and delighted me. And I thank you.

Like one of my 18th century heroes, Francois-Marie Arouet, my self-chosen avocation is to say what I think, but unlike him, I like to express my thoughts in a language I didn’t grow up with, just to see how far I could go with the exercise. Words are my tool. With my pen, I battle faux (sloppy) thinking, injustice, falsehood, corruption and cowardice. While doing so, I strive for clarity of expression despite my penchant for floridity and rhetorical flights.

Dear Another Friend:

With all due respect, I had a hard time to understand the thrust of your email. I would appreciate it very much if you would kindly restate your thoughts to make them more accessible to readers who don’t have the intelligence you possess.

As I have maintained all along, I like people who make music, not mere noise. I also like people who catch fire. Fire produces light and heat and thus brings vision and comfort to men. Smoke, on the other hand, produces only obscurity and irritation to the eyes, lungs, and thus is injurious to the health of the mammals which have to breathe in the unhealthy air. I am not insinuating that you are the one who has been making noise and smoke. This is just a general statement. When I write, I try my best to avoid making noise and smoke.

Wissai
June 20, 2009