Artists, Artisans,
and
Orwellian Descent
I saw a word in print last week,
impressive it did sound.
I only guessed its meaning
and began throwing it around.
I turned my back on Mr. Webster,
that stuffy, boring fool.
Words mean what you want them to,
and I thought I sounded cool.
My friends were just as dull as I,
and looked to me to lead.
If I spoke it with authority
They saw no need to read.
Orwell’s Newspeak simplified
our dinner conversation.
To check a fact or cite a source
ruins verbal masturbation.
All was well until this morning,
I passed a painter on his way.
He saw me and he cried out,
“I have some things to say!
“An artist and an artisan
are not one and the same.
The words aren’t interchangeable,
my profession’s not a game.
“As a surgeon’s not a butcher,
as a gelding’s not a mare,
but a dilettante’s a detriment
to Culture everywhere.”
So now I know the difference,
and I’m welcome in more places.
I’ve left the squawking parrots
in exchange for smarter faces.
Kathy Ferrell
April 27, 2011
©Kathy Ferrell and “Big Cup O'Blog” (blog about Cup O Swank Studio), 2011. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Kathy Ferrell and Big Cup O'Blog with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.
