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I’m looking for a word, not just any word, I want the right word to fit in just the “right” place. Right here. There must be a word to fit, neat as a pin, sharp as a tack, that says “could never make up for” -- succinct, direct, not exactly terse.
Grab the dictionary. How does one spell “succinct”?
I check its definition. Is there a synonym?
Grab the thesaurus, the Ban Boring Words book, Rack my brain, consider e-mailing a friend.
“Here I come, ready or not,” I yell as the escaped word shrinks deeper into its hiding place. “I know you’re in here, somewhere!”
Perhaps it hides beneath a memory of Mr. Gere’s high school Lit Class.
Or in the rafters over Mrs. Picard’s lecture on the Cuban Revolution.
Of course, it’s possible that “could never make up for” will rest happily inside the poem.
No replacement necessary.
- Georgina Stockman-Clark
