Never waste your alcohol. Never waste your words. Once we put it out there, we can never get it back.
You don't want to regret what you say or do. You cannot take back spoken word and when we delete something we write, someone may have already read it. If they read it, it once existed and you cannot take that out of their head. Think before you act and keep the thoughts coming. In Rodney Jones' case it's drink before you act and keep the alcohol rumming.
Interesting thoughts Brianna. :) Your post seems to propose that Rodney Jones is advising writers to choose their words carefully because of the fact that words can never be taken back. Yet, his proposition harbors irony because he ignores it and continues to chug the rum anyway. Have you considered, however, where the 'hubris' - the pride - comes into play? Why is that word in the title? I mention this because I was wondering if it crossed your mind at all; when I read the poem, I fit the pieces together in my head to form one seemingly solid interpretation, but then I had to go back and look at the title as well to make sure it fit ( with my interpretation).
ReplyDeletePerhaps, in your case, the hubris comes into play in the fact that Jones defies his advice and continues to chug without thinking about it?
Bree, thank you for writing an intelligent and thoughtful post. I admire how you state everything as a clear cut point. You might want to read Mike's blog about this poem. He has a completely different perspective and it is interesting. Have you thought about this more as a whole though- that we only have one life and we have to give it all we have. We cannot live life with regrets.
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