Saturday, January 23, 2010
They
I know I am not the first person to question this particular anomaly in the English language, and it very nearly pains me to know I will not be the last. All the same, I spend many nights awake in bed contemplating the fact that no, I do not know what they say. I want to know who the heck they are, where they came from, and what they want. What if "They" was once a legitimate name? What if this "They" was so influential, his/her name forever embedded itself into our language? Maybe the law enforcement was once referred to as the "they." It could have been a slang term for royal or religious leaders. Regardless of where the phrase and the word itself originated, it has come to represent a positive and negative entity. Most people, very nearly all people use the phrase "you know what they say" without even realizing they said it! They is a collective term so internalized, we do not even care who these things are. What if they are not human or plant? And how would we know?
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I often wonder who "they" is referring to as well. I like how you put all the thoughts and ideas behind one word into a poem. You took one simple word and brought it to life. I like this piece a lot.
ReplyDeleteIs there any reason you just let the piece run on and did not give it any form at all?
I think you really got it in the beginning of you post: that you aren't the first, nor will you be the last person to contemplate "they." As infuriating as it can be, it's kind of cool in a unifying way, isn't it? The idea that we're connected to so many people and times by our vague usage of "they"?
ReplyDeleteCute post...I like the wonderings on if they is or was ever a real person or group. The above comments says this was a poem--I didn't read it that way, should I have?
I didn't intend it as a poem, but I could certainly alter it.
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