What we owe each other
is accuracy. Not kindness.
Kindness is frequently
a way of avoiding
the difficulty of being correct.
🔹
Consider how a surgeon
does not comfort a scalpel
into position.
She places it.
🔹
Fifty-eight years of watching people
say approximately what they mean
and call it communication.
It is not communication.
It is incomplete speech
that nobody bothers
to correct.
🔹
We have confused warmth
with imprecision
and called that confusion
generosity.
🔹
A good dictionary
does not soften its definitions
out of concern for your feelings.
Neither does a tide chart.
Neither does a bone
that has decided to break.
🔹
These are not cruel.
They are just
not interested
in being misunderstood.
🔹
I am not interested
in being misunderstood either.
🔹
Say what you mean.
Not approximately.
Not softened
so nobody feels uncomfortable.
🔹
Say it clearly,
the exact claim,
the exact meaning,
the exact context.
🔹
Because vagueness
is not mercy.
🔹
Vagueness is how fifty-eight years
go by and you realize
you have been nodded at
your entire life
but never once
accurately received.
🔹
That is the complaint.
Stated plainly.
Nothing else.
About the Creator
Tim Carmichael
I am an Appalachian poet and cookbook author. I write about rural life, family, and the places I grew up around. My poetry and essays have appeared in Beautiful and Brutal Things, My latest book. Check it out on Amazon
Reader insights
Outstanding
Excellent work. Looking forward to reading more!
Top insights
Compelling and original writing
Creative use of language & vocab
Easy to read and follow
Well-structured & engaging content
Eye opening
Niche topic & fresh perspectives
Heartfelt and relatable
The story invoked strong personal emotions
Masterful proofreading
Zero grammar & spelling mistakes
On-point and relevant
Writing reflected the title & theme
Keep reading
More stories from Tim Carmichael and writers in Poets and other communities.
Why Didn't Anyone Tell Us
Men, move along. This is not for you. This is for the women. I was forty-five when I began menopause. It is pretty young for that to be going on in a woman’s life, but I had undiagnosed PCOS, my entire life. Thank you to all the gynecologists I had seen my entire life. That in itself should encourage women to keep seeking second opinions, especially when you are not getting correct answers or any at all.
By Alexandra Grant4 days ago in Humans
Comments (3)
Truth. 👏👏👏 If this doesn't resonate with most of the people writing here, I don't know what would.
I like the phrase “vagueness is not mercy”
I think you knocked this one into orbit instead of just out of the park (or maybe you tagged the Durham bull). I can’t begin to tell you how much I love everything about this.