The Word...

"Marigold, tell me what is the most powerful word?"

Choices descend upon her all of a sudden. Unprepared, she feels like a member of the Animal Farm. All words are powerful, but some are more powerful than others.

She thinks a little, then she thinks a lot. Spoiled for choices, she must think like a non native with limited vocabulary.

Foreign words sound exotic as they roll off the tongue. She tries to get close to cultures by opting to use the local tongue. It's always an adventure. It may be easier to pick out of her limited dictionary.

Then, she remembers that time at the Italian restaurant. She opted to decline the English menu and order from the Italian one. Casu Marzu sounded safe, the waiter pronounced it Kasu Martzu, and she kept hearing the word pecorino. Ah, Casu and Queso, both derived from Latin. Correct guesses are exciting. It is a soft pecorino cheese, and it seemed like a good choice.

However, half knowledge is not a safe bet.

If only she had connected the dots for the other word in the dish! Casu Marzu sounds sophisticated, much better than, what? Rotten Cheese?

This traditional Sardinian dish is an acquired taste. Digging further, she realized there are a few takers out there for putrid cheese containing maggot larvae. It IS a thing, this Casu Marzu. If they've survived, so will she.

Perhaps, she can drop the foreign word.

Not all people react to words the same way. So it is with Mari. When she hears the word "music," an orchestra swells in her mind. Her stomach growls when she reads the word "hungry." She's gripped by synesthesia where information meant to stimulate one of her senses stimulates several others. Perhaps she should leave those words out.

Could she pick a tongue-in-cheek word? The old favorite longest word some say, is "smiles." This joke of having a mile between the two Ss’ is hackneyed. although it uplifts. Why, the synesthete in her might even detect a smile while reading it.

Or, it could be the longest word literally; floccinaucinihilipilification. It's the habit of estimating something as worthless, and she changes mind in giving power to this useless word.

After throwing out multiple choices, she picks the one.

Three letters stand in exclusivity and exclusion. Just three of them. Sometimes, they confer a superiority, “There’s no one but you who can do this so well.”

But, there's a danger with this word. Mari raises the hackles of the grammar police by starting the prior sentence with a conjunction, but it is the word!

Whataboutism and finger pointing bid adieu to self-accountability in more than one instance. She remembers one historical election where voters went , "But, but, but Hillary?”

There’s that avoidance, “I would love to help you, but...” Sounds like a glib excuse to back out!

Indecision is another association with the word. She thinks she likes this word, but she also likes that one, but she has to pick one word.

That classic half-assed apology, “I am sorry for my behavior, but you...” What a person says after "but," really does not matter. One is not sorry, and that apology sucks!

Then there’s that cruel subtraction when the word takes away all one stands for.

She deliberates long and hard. A word that can take her forward or back is b-u-t. How she puts the word in context matters. If she gives the word power, this is how it will sound. "I know I can write this piece, but there are so many writers better than me." The same word sounds different when Mari puts it this way. "I understand this world has hundreds of talented writers, but I'm confident I can write a good piece too." This is the part where she feels that if she gives a green light to the word, it will seize all the power. Mari likes a good challenge.

Keeping this in mind, she pronounces the importance of being careful and chooses the three-letter word.

"I think the word is special and important,

BUT

be careful not to let this conjunction

whittle,

belittle,

dilute,

and reject

all the good things first said in the bolded part of this long and compound sentence."