Words
Words [1981]
Vern Rutsala (1934-)
We had more than
we could use.
They embarrassed us,
our talk fuller than our
rooms. They named
nothing we could see--
dining room, study,
mantel piece, lobster
thermidor. They named
things you only
saw in movies--
the thin flicker Friday
nights that made us
feel empty in the cold
as we walked home
through our only great
abundance, snow.
This is why we said 'ain't'
and 'he don't.'
We wanted words to fit
our cold linoleum,
our oil lamps, our
outhouse. We knew
better but it was wrong
to use a language
that named ghosts,
nothing you could touch.
We left such words at school
locked in books
where they belonged.
It was the vocabulary
of our lives that was
so thin. We knew this
and grew to hate
all the words that named
the vacancy of our rooms--
looking here we said
studio couch and saw cot;
looking there we said
venetian blinds and saw only the yard;
brick meant tarpaper,
fireplace meant wood stove.
And this is why we came to love
the double negative.
Questions for Discussion
1. Lines 1 and 2 introduce the narrator's sense of
A) celebration
B) frustration
C) gratification
D) disorganization
2. To the narrator, the italicized words in lines 7 through 9 most likely represent
A) an alien world
B) familiar experiences
C) a spiritual life
D) a childhood dream
3. The narrator's tone in the phrase "our only great abundance" (lines 16 and 17) can best be described as
A) proud
B) respectful
C) humorous
D) mocking
4. The word "ghosts" in line 26 probably refers to
A) imaginary possessions
B) vague language
C) unwanted items
D) outdated schoolbooks
5. The expression "the vocabulary of our lives (lines 31 and 32) refers to the
A) abundance of snow
B) words learned in school
C) world of movies
D) environment of the narrator
6. The words "studio couch" and "cot" (line 38) reinforce the contrast between the world of the movies and the narrator's world of
A) longing
B) reslessness
C) emptiness
D) escape