7.3.24

I find poetry difficult. It's a form of expression through wordplay, using the distance between precision and slipperiness in language to engage with thoughts and feelings. Feels like using words to create a shadow-box puppet in order to look at ideas. 

And it was said by Lazarus Long, "A man who reads his verse in public may have other nasy habits." So there's a certain cringiness associated with poetry in our culture, as if anyone who takes feelings and words seriously (even playfully!) is most assuredly not very well adjusted. 

Using playful words to describe the crocodiles that are approaching you in murky water isn't a respectable response; you're supposed to pretend you don't see them.