Language Should Dig Beneath Certainty
Or, how I panicked when asked to write about love
Hi, friends!
In this video I share a poem I wrote for (and read during) my son Max’s wedding. The challenge I faced was fear of cliche, because what topic is more vulnerable to cliche than love?
So, I was afraid of writing something that would feel too familiar, too “already said.” Cliche scares me generally,
because when language becomes cliche, it loses its meaning and power. A cliché doesn’t just fail to tell the truth; it convinces us we already know it, and that it no longer requires our attention.
In tomorrow’s paid post, I’ll share a writing exercise meant to help you break through blocks when it comes to writing about topics that feel impossible—too big, too common, too emotional, too too too … whatever it is that makes writing hard.
For now, here’s the poem I came up with for Max and Kaela.
Thankyou Jeannine for your generosity in sharing this with us. It meant a lot to read your words. It meant more to hear you shaping your own words. Beautiful. The lines about 'singing forgiveness' and shaping mouths gets me in all those good ways every time. The spreading of lichen too is extra special. Thankyou. I love love. And I love the truth you have brought to this devotion. Thank you.
Gorgeous.
I shared an exercise of yours with a large writing group last weekend (with lots and lots of credit), and they loved it, as they always do. I look forward to hearing more about how you made this poem tomorrow.