Sunday, October 30, 2011

Steeped






                      
     We say of the disseminating
     effect of infusions, that
     they are steeped. But what
     is the substance that is
     steeped when we say one is
     steeped in learning, or in
     bigotry? Is it dissolved, 
     or embodied?

     On the occasion, however, 
     of being second to fall
     asleep, it amounts to the 
     same thing. I don't know
     what to call this suspen-
     sion, but I have known it.












3 comments:

  1. another word which contains its own opposite meaning, one I hadn't seen before. I mean to keep a list. like explode.

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  2. Closer to home, in food service at least, what do you think of "gratuitous"? Aren't we unpardonably lucky to have inherited this language? I'd absolutely despair of learning it later; it's hard enough as it is.

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  3. that one I don't exactly see. I will have to ponder.

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