I recall a former neighbour
I recall the good day we met
Because that day he said to me
Special words which I can't forget
He said, 'We've three grown-up children
Plus this surprise,' his next words lift:
'We thought our lives were quite complete
Until fate sent - an extra gift.'
-ends-
Copyright Angela Lansbury, March 23rd 2016.
Author's note: A conversation with a new friend in Singapore revealed the speaker had for children, two boys and a girl, all adults, plus another just out of earshot. The father used the word 'a surprise'. He then described how delighted he and his wife were with their (unplanned) fourth child.
It took a three or four second delay for me to register that the child who is a surprise (present tense) was a surprise (past tense, i.e., when born). The child was playing just out of earshot, and the word surprise might not have conveyed the same meaning to a child as it conveyed to an adult.
I reflected that one word can be neutral, negative or positive. I thought the perfect word for a 'surprise' would be gift, unexpected gift.
The word unexpected is four syllables and I could not cram it into an eight syllable line.The word gift, standing alone, is even more succinct and positive. In meetings of Toastmasters International we often speak about using succinct and positive words. Here is a good example of a word, gift, which conveys delight, to please the speaker, listener, and person described.
Angela Lansbury, poetry writer, author and speaker.
I recall the good day we met
Because that day he said to me
Special words which I can't forget
He said, 'We've three grown-up children
Plus this surprise,' his next words lift:
'We thought our lives were quite complete
Until fate sent - an extra gift.'
-ends-
Copyright Angela Lansbury, March 23rd 2016.
Author's note: A conversation with a new friend in Singapore revealed the speaker had for children, two boys and a girl, all adults, plus another just out of earshot. The father used the word 'a surprise'. He then described how delighted he and his wife were with their (unplanned) fourth child.
It took a three or four second delay for me to register that the child who is a surprise (present tense) was a surprise (past tense, i.e., when born). The child was playing just out of earshot, and the word surprise might not have conveyed the same meaning to a child as it conveyed to an adult.
I reflected that one word can be neutral, negative or positive. I thought the perfect word for a 'surprise' would be gift, unexpected gift.
The word unexpected is four syllables and I could not cram it into an eight syllable line.The word gift, standing alone, is even more succinct and positive. In meetings of Toastmasters International we often speak about using succinct and positive words. Here is a good example of a word, gift, which conveys delight, to please the speaker, listener, and person described.
Angela Lansbury, poetry writer, author and speaker.
