Kids, today we have
an important lesson. A lesson
reminiscent of grade school,
a vocabulary lesson.
Apricity. Appreciate the word
first for its sound, how it
pushes your cheeks back and up,
how it molds your tongue
and lips.
The very action of your saying it
is like tasting any other fruit,
except in this case you’re not
actually tasting anything
as it’s just a word.
Next, appreciate it for
what it means,
the warmth of the sun
on a cold winter’s day.
Connect sensation to the
empty letters with which
I gave you the word.
Make it yours.
Beyond the silly way your face looks
when you say it or
your weird pronunciation. Imbue
the word with memory until
it is as much a reminder
of some bundled smile or
exasperated relent in the weather
as any photograph. Delve
into the paradox of the word,
how it would not exist without
the conjunction of two opposites.
Understand the contradiction of its
existence and how we still
perfectly understand it.
Then forget it. Hold onto it
like a kiss that can never be
shared again. But also,
like that kiss, cannot be known
to any other. Because honestly,
what kind of person actually
uses words like apricity?
08 March 2014
Hershey, PA
By Christian Cassidy-Amstutz