Friday, March 20, 2020

Time and Time Again!

Time and Time Again! Over the years, I've watched him grow. Through the baby stages to death. I've seen the struggles, the joy, the despair. It was all clear. He never gave a thought, that he wasn't alone in his room. He was never alone, I was there. I was there in the walls, the dirty carpet he refused to clean, in the posters, the holes, in that stinky boy smell he emitted as a teen. I was there for him, strong and sturdy as the walls. Comforted him as he sobbed on my carpet. I was his escape, his punishment. When he knew noone else was there, he would run to me. I was there.I was there for his arrival. I was there to watch him all bundled up and warm, smiling and asleep, more peaceful then he'll ever be as he grows old. I was there to soothe him asleep, as his mother drinks downstairs, and his father leaves.TRUSTI was there for his first steps. I was there to guide him along my walls, begging for love and affection. I was there to praise him. I was there.I was there when he entered grade school. I was there to comfort him when the kids teased him. He had no mother, no father. Endless torments berated him. I was there to hold him. I was there.I was there when he was 17. I was watching as he tied the rope to the fan. I was there for the plans, the preparation, and the event itself. I was there to pry the fan loose from the drywall. I was there.I was there when he was 34. Living alone, safe and captive in my walls. I was there as he arranged my insides to their cleanest perfection. I was there...

Wednesday, March 4, 2020

Commonly Confused Words Peace and Piece

Commonly Confused Words Peace and Piece The words peace and piece are homophones: they are pronounced the same but have different meanings. The noun peace means contentment or the absence of war. The noun piece refers to a portion or a part of a whole. As a verb,  piece is often followed by together and means to complete or join into a whole (as in piece together a quilt). Idiomatically, you may hold your peace (stay silent) or speak your piece (say what you have to say). See the examples and usage notes below. Examples When the power of love overcomes the love of power, the world will know peace.Jimi Hendrix Sitting at the table one day, I held the fork in my left hand and pierced a piece of chicken.Maya Angelou, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings. Random House, 1969 You can sign any peace treaty you want, give back this piece of land and that piece of land, but peace is never going to happen until those things do. Its got to start with us learning each others names. With us feeling responsible for each others fates.Naomi Ragen, The Sacrifice of Tamar. Crown, 1994 Speak your piece; then hold your peace. Dont restate, restate, and restate. Dont summarize if you have only written a few pages.Mary Lynn Kelsch and Thomas Kelsch, Writing Effectively: A Practical Guide. Prentice-Hall, 1981 Usage Notes Piece has the word pie in it, which should remind you of the familiar phrase a piece of pie. You can meditate to find peace of mind, or you can get angry and give someone a piece of your mind.(Paul Brians, Common Errors in English Usage. William, James, 2003)Whereas peace of mind is calm assurance, a piece of ones mind is something a person says in a fit of pique. But the two are surprisingly often confounded.(Bryan Garner,Garners Modern American Usage. Oxford University Press, 2009) Practice (a) _____ is not merely a distant goal that we seek, but a means by which we arrive at that goal.(Martin Luther King, Jr.) (b) I never met a _____ of chocolate I didnt like. Answers (a) Peace  is not merely a distant goal that we seek, but a means by which we arrive at that goal.(Martin Luther King, Jr.) (b) I never met a  piece  of chocolate I didnt like.