Adjectives; The Emotional Branch Of Our Vocabulary

If Purple Were A Dream

Analog collage on paper

For whatever reason, my muse likes to lure me awake between 2 am and 4 am to drop interesting thoughts into the midst of my sleep.

She cannot be willed back to silence; I have learned –

I snatch the pen and steno pad off the nightstand, 

quietly retreat to our bathroom, 

shut the door and in the dim light, take dictation.

Today began with a short poem and then she dangled this gem:

              Adjectives, the emotional branch of our vocabulary.

Before I go any further, this disclaimer; I am not a linguistic marvel nor a professor of the English language. So, please, those of you who read this and are - hold your wagging Shakespearean tongues, your erudite comments, your red pencil corrections and simply enjoy this alphabet locomotion of a ride.

As an example of the critical revue adjectives play on the stage of writing, imagine reading this poem without the modifier, softly.

             

Three Forty-One

             

              Waking momentarily

              I sink into the quiet -

              an oasis of stillness.

             

              Softly,

              I drift back into sleep.

This six-letter word among words carries the poem into an imaginary place of down feathers, marshmallows, chubby baby cheeks, delicate fluff, gentle gazes, a whisper of a kiss. One word paints a kaleidoscope of romantic images.

You gotta admit, our language would be pretty dull without them.