A Wordsmith, The Original Spellcaster by Valerie Parente
Words.
They are magic spells.
That’s why they call it spelling
when you string these symbols together
and create meaning out of them
to cast what’s inside your head out into the atmosphere
to evoke emotions and reactions out of your peers.
The wordsmith,
the original spellcaster.
The poet,
the witch of language pastures.
The scholar,
the sage becoming a master.
The linguist
the manipulator of matter.
Free speech,
the enchantment we must look after.
– Valerie Parente (3-23-2025)
I correct people’s grammar. I criticize poorly worded sentences in commercials. I cringe at ridiculous lyrics sung on the radio. I proofread my text messages before sending them. But I think the reason language is important to me is because so often I have a jumble of irrational snippets of information and lacerated thoughts senselessly flying around my head. So to be able to pull that structureless jumble outside of my own head and construct it into coherent sentences is a big deal for me. To be able to put into words what doesn’t quite make sense to me is nothing short of a miracle.
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