Beyond LiteracyLink: March Musings 16: #10FoundWords

Have you ever been challenged to move out of your comfort zone?

I was with the latest #10FoundWords exercise designed by Laura Shovan, author.

BACKSTORY:

My writing friend, Catherine Flynn sent Laura Shovan an interesting gift, Other Wordly: Words Both Strange and Lovely from Around the World by Yee-Lum Mak. Laura was intrigued by the book and decided to use 10 of the words for this month's #10FoundWords challenge that was announced yesterday, the Ides of March.

Writers were asked to play with the challenging words (definitions provided) before ultimately creating a poem with all of the words.

DILEMMA:

When you review the words and their definitions, you will see why I was stumped. I never heard of these words before. Yikes!

OUTCOME:

Challenge on. I persevered and found a narrative poem flowing from the following words.

1. Nyctophilia (noun, English): a love of darkness or night; finding relaxation or comfort in the darkness.

2. Nemophilist (noun, English): a haunter of the woods; one who loves the forest and its beauty and solitude.

3. Tsundoku (noun, Japanese): buying books and not reading them; letting books pile up unread on shelves or floors or nightstands.

4. Dirl (ver, Scots and English): to thrill, to vibrate; to tremble or quiver.

5. Sturmfrei (adjective, German): lit. "stormfree"; the freedom of not being watched by a parent or superior; being alone at home and having the ability to do what you want.

6. Honne (noun, Japanese): what a person truly believes; the behavior and opinions that are often kept hidden and only displayed with one's closest confidants.

7. Jentacular (adjective, English): having to do with an early breakfast.

8. Brumous (adjective, English): of gray skies and winter days; filled with heavy clouds or fog; relating to winter or cold, sunless weather.

9. Hoppipolla (verb phrase, Icelandic): jumping into puddles.

10. Uitwaaien (verb, Dutch): to take a break and walk away from the demands of life to clear one's head.

END PRODUCT:

I can't deliberate any longer. The following poem is where my thoughts lead me. I envisioned a dark Victorian setting with a young heroine searching for solitude, similar to the original novels dating from another century that grace my library.

Opening the shades to a brumous morning,
a young lady with nemophilist tendencies stares out,
searching the woods for solitude and peace.

Iced patterns lace the glass, blurring the frozen landscape.

Leaning gently against a stack of to be read books,
she thinks back on what her father says.

"Tsundokus seldom read their treasures."

Nostalgic reflection and nyctophilia overcome her.

She closes her shades, relaxing in the darkness.

Stillness enters the space and quietness surrounds.

Her imagination takes her to a place where

she giddily hoppipolas through rain puddles,
created by the sun's warming touch on the glistening snow.

A pelting sound interrupts the daydream.
Reality sets in. Dressed for the day, she slowly walks
through the expansive house to the breakfast room
where a jentacular cup of tea with a scone is set.

Overcome with sturmfrei feelings, she departs to roam
the forest on a quest not to find the magic unicorn but

ice sculptures created from the remains of
yet another graying winter storm.

Carefully transversing the dark, deep woods,

the gentle swirl of March winds make her dirl but
undaunted by the weather, she continues, searching
for peace in the quiet surroundings of the forest.

Her honne is guided by one word, joy, and

so she puddle jumps with a hopeful heart into

the silence of another wintry day.

Interesting enough, I found a song, "Hoppipolla"-Icelandic for "jumping into puddles by an Icelandic band, Sigur Ros. It was translated into English.