Language

Language doesn't express emotion very well. As essentially a word person, this is hard to admit, yet I know it's true. No poem or prose passage ever written is as eloquent or as truthful as a kiss, a hug, a hand on the shoulder, or the locking of eyes in love or sympathy. When it comes to expressing an idea or a concept or a fact, language is supreme, yet time and time again, feelings evade its steely grasp. Maybe that’s why we try to combine it with other modes of expression. We add music to words and creative love songs. We add movement to words and create drama. Although language is largely a human construct, it is frequently unable to communicate the things that make us most human. I struggle for these words, knowing that whichever ones I choose, they will probably fall ridiculously short of what I wanted to communicate. I used to think language could change the world. I used to think any enemy could be defeated or any problem could be solved just by placing the right sounds next to each other in a sentence. Now I see my error. Belief in language is the ultimate folly.