To “touch” others with words means to use language that evokes strong emotions, creates a deep connection, or leaves a lasting impression by employing vivid imagery, sensory details, and personal anecdotes, essentially allowing the listener to feel the sentiment behind your words almost as if they were experiencing it themselves. As poets we evoke the colours of the wheel from rich to translucent and we populate our words with the chimes, trophes and rhythms of their musicality.

How do we achieve language that touches things that are hard to put into words?

Key points about using words to evoke emotion in poetry:

• Diction (word choice):Choose words with care – never settling forthe first word you think of, without considering it’s weight and appropriateness. Examine the quality of your chosen words, checking connotations and synonyms before settling on the best word for a line. Use adverbs and adjectives sparingly, as they slow the read and obscure the beauty of imagery. Choose the best noun for the line or replace with a simile or metaphor.Choose strong verbs

• Imagery:Creating vivid sensory details that allow the reader to visualize and almost feel the experience described in the poem. • Metaphor and simile:Using figurative language to create comparisons that deepen the emotional impact of the poem. • Sound devices:Utilizing rhythm, rhyme and repetition to create a musical quality that complements the emotional tone.

• Personal experience:Draw on personal memories and emotions to create a relatable experience for the reader.

But is it easy to touch people with words?

The opening line from Jack Gilbert’s poem “The Forgotten Dialect of the Heart”, suggests it’s hard if not impossible to achieve. And that words in every language have limitations.

‘How astonishing it is that language can almost mean,and frightening that it does not quite.’

When I read a line of poetry that speaks to me, I know that line and it’s emotions and imagery and sound have been chosen by the poet to try to elicit a reaction in me. With any luck, my poetry will have that effect on someone else but often it will fail because my use of language has not been good enough. There are many that theorise that language is inadequate to express our innermost thoughts and feelings but it has so much potential to awake others emotions if we find the right combination to hit a resonant chord. Or our sequence of words is beautiful in some way.

“Poetry is what gets lost in translation.” — Robert Frost

“Words are often seen as a barrier to communication, not a bridge.” — Unknown

The committed poet strives for the right words, the best form for the message, the best language, in the hope of touching or nearly touching readers who are open to their messages and emotions. They draw from a range of language skills from a core of knowledge and belief. Committed poets study the art of poetry and the art of language in the hope that some of their poems or some of their lines will truly speak to a reader.

Author J.K. Rowling says about language and magic “Words are, in my not-so-humble opinion, our most inexhaustible source of magic. Capable of both inflicting injury, and remedying it.”

“Poetry the best words in the best order.” Coleridge.

“…But the human tongue is a beast that few can master. It strains constantly to break out of its cage, and if it is not tamed, it will run wild and cause you grief.” -Unknown.

“Handle them carefully, for words have more power than atom bombs.” -Pearl Strachan Hurd.

“Words have energy and power with the ability to help, to heal, to hinder, to hurt, to harm, to humiliate, and to humble.” -Yehuda Berg.

“All I need is a sheet of paper and something to write with, and then I can turn the world upside down.” -Friedrich Nietzsche.

“No matter what anybody tells you, words and ideas can change the world.” -John Keating.

Do you think the language we use is enough to hit the mark or is it likely to skim the surface?Have you any examples of lines that have really resonated with you?