I wish I had written that

During this time of social isolation, I have caught up with my reading. I absolutely loved

Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens and dreaded turning the final page. I had seen the title at the top of the NY Times list for almost two years but, due to circumstances last year, I’d stopped visiting the library until recently. Recently, a former student suggested it and I took his suggestion. The novel’s theme is unique and, for me, the ending came as a surprise. But what really grabbed my attention was the writer’s prose. Sentences and phrases are so beautiful and powerful they often require a second reading for full appreciation.

I have told you before how much I love pretty words fashioned into well-written sentences — especially those that draw the reader inside a place or situation. Harper Lee and Pat Conroy are masters of vivid description and now I am adding Ms. Owens to my list. Great song lyricists, novelists and poets of this caliber always leave me with the feeling, “I wish I had penned those beautiful words.” Today I will share several passages that have evoked my smiles, tears, and adoration. Most of them I have memorized; so excuse me if I misquote or omit a word. LYRICISTS:

“I was searching all the time for something that I’d never lost or left behind.”

—Jim Croce

“Winter, spring, summer, or fall/All you have to do is call/And I’ll be there/You’ve got a friend.” —James Taylor

“If you would not have fallen/Then I would not have found you/Angel flying too close to the ground…”

—Willie Nelson

“Strumming my pain with his fingers/Singing my life with his words…Telling my whole life with his words/Killing me softly with his song.” —Norman Gimbel

NOVELISTS:

“Whatever our souls are made of, his and mine are the same.”

—Emily Bronte (Wuthering Heights)

“She is a friend of mind. She gathers me, Man. The pieces I am, she gathers them and gives them back to me in all the right order. It’s good, you know, when you got a woman who is a friend of your mind.”

—Toni Morrison (Beloved)

“The human heart has a way of making itself large again even after it’s been broken into pieces. In a world of ambiguity, this kind of certainty comes only once and never again, no matter how many lifetimes you live. The old dreams were good dreams; they didn’t work out, but they were good dreams. And I’m glad I had them.”

—Robert Waller (The Bridges of Madison County)

POETS:

“…he is altogether lovely. This is my beloved and this is my friend.”

—Song of Solomon ch.5, vs.16

“The best portion of a good man’s life: his little, nameless unremembered acts of kindness and love.” “Fill your paper with the breathings of your heart.” —William Wordsworth “If I say I love you I want it to mean more than I love peanut butter or James Bond movies—I want it to mean I’m letting go, that I won’t turn back.” “We need to know it all, everything that brought us to each other’s eyes and why. All those mysteries we’ve saved for no one we can give to each other.”

—Rod McKuen (Sunday)

“She watches the duck sailing along on the lake below. How graceful and tranquil it appears to those watching. But beneath the lake’s surface, she knows it is paddling its feet like crazy to remain on the expected path. It is then she realizes she is watching herself—fooling everyone with her outward tranquility while she’s working hard to hide what lies beneath her surface. Perhaps loneliness can be conquered by a hope and a prayer.”

—Anonymous

Brenda Miles is an award-winning columnist and author living in Hot Springs Village. She responds to mail sent to brenstar@att.net