From the Archive
This article by Young Reporter, Hannah Mehr was originally published in the Winter 2016 edition of the Potential Plus UK ezine Ignis
The Meaning of Words
This is a short sentence.
Here is another.
Here is a third.
Listen to the boredom.
Hear the words drone on. Hear the monotone continue.
Hear the words fade. There is no variation. There is no excitement. The words are hollow.
Now listen. Here is a sentence with a longer length and varied vocabulary.
I create a rhythm, an atmosphere and music to my readers’ ears. Sounds. Emotions. Art.
Each sentence is a stroke on the overall, bigger picture. Each word is a detail and a colour. The writing creates. It has a purpose, a meaning and a reason for existing. Fleeting colours and rippling sounds, these words create an image in the mind. The words create a scene, forever immortalised in words.
Now listen again. At the right time, I use a long sentence to build up tension as well as showing the deeper meaning behind my words. Rolling thunder, crashing clouds, screaming children; hear the sounds, feel the rain as the words leap off the page and into the mind of you, the reader. Know the wash of emotion and the burning of the flames inside of you as you continue to read the words in front of you. Lose yourself in your surroundings and listen to the words as they envelop you in a veil of tranquillity.
Your eyes open and you are back where you began.
Words take you on a journey and show you a list of endless probabilities. Words tell you what is, what can be and what can only exist in the darkness of our own imagination. Words are the doorway bridging the realities of fiction and truth together. In a story, there are no limits, only imagination and opportunity. Words are a choice but also a way of life. Stories are enchanting as they are the gateway into understanding our own lives and the world around us.
And that is poetry to me.
Dark by Hannah Mehr
They are dishonest brutes and cheats and cheats,
They have performed most evil of feats,
We will not forgive, we will not forget,
They are forever in our debt,
They tried to run, they tried to flee,
To where they go I cannot see,
Pain and anguish breaks the land,
Their false regime is not so grand,
The only thing they did was lie,
But now they’ve left their home to die,
Trapped beneath the rubbles hold,
They are now stuck, engulfed in cold,
One final breath escapes his lips,
Regret sinks in, his stomach dips,
As the life fades from his soul,
His painful life does take its toll,
He did commit most horrid crime,
But now he knows it is his time,
He is welcomed by the gates of hell,
Greeted by their putrid smell,
Devoured by the jaws of death,
No more does he steal a breath,
No more can he hear the lark,
He is consumed by the dark…
