So, where’d the name for this blog come from, anyway? What the heck is a “microscopic word”? It began with a sweet malapropism by my son, when he was just three or four, who thought that it was microscopic rather than Microsoft Word. (He is also the originator of Michael-wave for microwave and aminal for animal, so there you go.)

But then I stumbled across the writings of 20th century poet William Carlos Williams, and this passage:

“one word, one tiny, even microscopic word, can save us…”

If you’ve never read his poetry, you should. It’s fresh and clear; descriptive yet spare; sensory yet unsentimental. He chooses every word with care, knowing that, indeed, every word does matter.

The Red Wheelbarrow

so much depends
upon

a red wheel
barrow

glazed with rain
water

beside the white
chickens.