whimsical happenstance

word of the day

you are getting a twofer here. i have decded to share with you my passion for words...

The Merriam-Webster Word of the Day is:

dragon's teeth   \DRAG-unz-TEETH\   noun
    *1 : seeds of strife
     2 : wedge-shaped concrete antitank barriers laid in
multiple rows

Example sentence:
     The political analyst insisted that the government's policy
was misguided and would only sow dragon's teeth by increasing
poverty and discontent.

Did you know?
     In Nathaniel Hawthorne's _The Scarlet Letter_, Hester
Prynne's child, Pearl, is said to have "never created a friend,
but seemed always to be sowing broadcast the dragon's teeth,
whence sprung a harvest of armed enemies, against whom she
rushed to battle." In Hawthorne and elsewhere, "dragon's teeth"
alludes to a story involving Cadmus, the legendary Phoenician
hero reputed to have founded Thebes and invented the alphabet.
The tale holds that Cadmus killed a dragon and planted its teeth
in the ground. From the teeth sprang fierce armed men who
battled one another until all were dead but five. These founded
the noblest families of Thebes and helped build its citadel.

*Indicates the sense illustrated in the example sentence.

posted by Megan at 9:06 PM | 0 comment(s)

at liberty.

there is something to be said for finally gaining control of one's own life--breaking free of the ties that bind a person solidly and opressively to an unwanted fate. the feeling of freedom is such a beautiful and terrifying thing to those who experience it at long last. it is liberating but also, ironically, petrifying. for not only does a person have to break physically free but also emotionally free. the old habit of submissiveness must be broken; the comfort of familiar complacency forgotten. life cannot truly begin unless you have not only been freed, but also have freed yourself.

i was walking along the bike path to davis square and crossed the street with a woman who began talking to me. it was one of those interesting conversations with a total stranger that most people brush aside or veer away from, completely xenophobic. she explained to me that life does not begin until you are twenty-five--after you get to know yourself and are comfortable in this world. while it was a wise observation, i think that life for some begins once they gain their freedom, their independence. maybe it's earlier, maybe it's later; maybe it's an uncertain and wobbly start.

but it is always the realization of a very old hope. it's the reason why the caged bird sings.

posted by Megan at 5:26 PM | 0 comment(s)