Linda Eve Diamond

Remember when amazing was a bright star of a word—
turning heads toward the wondrous or startling?

Now everything and nothing are amazing all at once...
…a big store, a good score, a comment, a new look, the cost of a book…

…a blog, a sandwich, nice weather, a few sparkles sewn on a sweater…
…a chain email, a one-day sale, marketing games and miracle claims…

Some say amazing should be retired…
or at least redefined as good or mildly amusing.

It happens. A word grows old and weak,
gets a little smaller, loses its teeth.

The word can’t seem to stand on its own without really
or strains to regain its size through words that magnify….

Truly amazing. No, really.
Totally amazing. (Really?)

Some people complain, some even lay blame.
We love words and hate letting go.

Words, though, rise and fall, grow old and decay,
and some, for no reason at all, simply slip away.

Wonderful words, too: jargogle, brabble and deliciate—
and how, in our endless writing, did we lose scriptitation?

Every day new words are born and old ones pass away.
Slang crashes from fashion faster than you can say…

Take a far out trip and keep on truckin’ babe
or get zozzled on giggle water with a dame.

The turning leaves us falling into truths about ages,
growing smaller, wearing out, using words the “kids” don’t say.

Now they hardly use a vowel and don’t care for spelling anyway.
Just another sign of time churning the dust around us.

Remember how amazing used to shine—even just a little bit?
When amazing was a shooting star, did you make a wish?

 

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©2013 Linda Eve Diamond, The Beauty of Listening