One word, or half-word, <br />missed, or misheard, <br />or out of place <br />can utterly deface <br />the beauty of a sentence <br />which carried good intentions. <br /> <br />The fragility <br />it seems to me <br />of the language that we use, <br />so readily abused, <br />renders speech a fraught enterprise; <br />I am constantly suprised <br />that we continue to converse <br />without such matters getting worse! <br /> <br />Now, if we could 'talk' without speaking <br />as if there were a meeting <br />of minds, acheived with empathy, <br />our thoughts might be more clearly understood, <br />would <br />they not? <br /> <br />Hmmn.. 'Not' - the best example; its omission in a phrase <br />by accident impacts in multiplicities of ways. <br />(Its erring inclusion, similarly <br />is dangerous, it occurs to me) . <br /> <br />The reversal of intention <br />with one single word wrongly mentioned. <br /> <br />Context is all, surely, it seems; <br />and to understand what someone means <br />one needs to go that extra mile <br /> <br />and see if the speaker wears a smile.<br /><br />Tara McH<br /><br />http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/the-fragility-of-language-ed-repost/
