Intimacy in Words by Alan Anderson

 

Writers and readers of our InScribe blog will notice how much we love words. This writer will go as far as to say there is an intimacy we enjoy with words. We indulge in a closeness, a passion, a deep affection, for words. Words are our loyal companions as we carry out our calling as writers.

 

Here are a few Scripture verses for writers and readers to meditate on to nurture intimate words.

 

Colossians 4:6 “Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone.”

John 15:3 “You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you.”

Matthew 12:35 “A good man brings good things out of the good stored up in him, and an evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in him.”

 

A Personal Example of Intimacy in Words

 

Here is an excerpt from my May 22, 2021, InScribe Blog Post to offer an example of intimacy in a use of words. The context of the words relates to my experience with depression in 1997.

 

The fog came down first and gripped me. Before long, the grey of the fog led me into the black of a tunnel. I am trapped. No, I am lost.

 

I look at my words, and they look at me. None of us speak. There is no urgency, only stillness. I smile, and my words wink at me. A thought keeps going through my mind. “What do I do? Where do I take these words and care for them?” Suddenly they move. My words sit beside me, then embrace me. Their embrace sweeps over my thoughts and emotions. I realize my words care for me. They listened to me in the stillness. My mind clears and I know what to do. I too must listen. My words came to me unhurried, quiet, gentle, and changed me.

 

 

Include Intimacy in Whatever Genre

These days the focus of my writing is poetry. The points to follow are what I keep in mind when I write poems, but they can also apply to other genres.

 

Be Authentic and Real

Whatever I write in poetry I strive to show what stirs within me. I hope this doesn’t sound egotistical. Like other writers, however, I want to use my voice in my writing, not a voice of someone else.

For instance, when I see a reflection of a sunbeam light up the still surface of a lake, I want to express my wonder at such beauty. When I hear the loud cries of someone clinging to the body of a loved one who has died, my words try to show this level of agony.

 

Be Confident

Write with the full assurance the message of a poem will cause a response within a reader. I may not be able to predict a response, but I pray one or more will be expressed.

 

Be Bold

With the poetry I resonate with one must express a sense of boldness. I do not make a habit of being politically correct neither does my poetry hold back. We can be bold in how we write because the passion of our words caresses our soul. This unquenchable passion builds in us to the point our readers feel their lives will never be the same. This is a hope I long for about my poetry.

 

Be Responsive

Allow the words of a poem to touch you deep within and don’t be afraid to express your response. Feel the words. Allow poetic words to cause your brain to break through its comfort zone of the ordinary. Whether this is a response shown through a giggle, a cascade of tears, a huge hug, or a shout of joy, allow room for your expressive response.

In the context of my grief poetry, the poems reflect real life experiences of people. The tone of the poems offers words intended to capture the intimacy of grief experiences.

  

My prayer for my words.

Included in my blog post of July 20, 2022, readers were given an insight into how I pray for my poetry. Please allow me to repeat it here.

 

I pray there will be times where my words are tears. May they drip down a page where every letter, every word, holds on to each other. They will remind readers they are not alone. I also pray there are times my words will present as puppies eager to put smiles on faces. Other times I send my words out into the world in hopes they will bandage gaping wounds which are a result of a broken world.

 

Until Next Time

Dear friends, encourage your words to show healthy intimacy. Writers, alive with the salvation message of the Lord Jesus Christ, can have no part in crassness. Our use of intimacy in words are a light able to scatter darkness. We owe apologies to no one for our message. We must, however, be authentic and bold, with no compromise, yet exude love. May our words also show how we should then live.

 

 

 

Alan lives in Deroche, B.C. with his wife, Terry, and their poodle, Charlie. He contributed stories to Good Grief People by Angel Hope Publishing, 2017; Story by Story: The Power of a Writer, Unstoppable Writers Publishing, 2018; Easter Stories & More by InScribe Christian Writers’ Fellowship, 2021. He is currently working on a book expressing the grief of grieving grandparents entitled “Hidden Poetic Voices: A Reflective Work of Grief, Faith, and Poetry.” Alan periodically writes articles for FellowScript Magazine. He has written posts for our InScribe blog since 2015. Blog: https://scarredjoy.ca.