Accidental poetry: Improve your english through creative writing - Lisa Lieberman 2015

Longing, yearning, desiring

I have been able to kiss the soft and holy territory of desire. — Second year English student

Like so many words in the English language, longing, yearning and desiring seem to have identical meanings but in actuality, there are subtle shades of differences. We long for something that seems unattainable; lost youth, for example, or the return of feelings we had for a lost loved one. We yearn for that which seems deeply satisfying; a sense of inner peace, perhaps, or a sense of achievement. Both of these words can elicit a sense of sadness. To desire is to want something for future pleasure; the notion of being wealthy, perhaps, or a material possession that will make us feel important.

There are other words in the English language that are similar to longing, yearning and desiring. We feel passion, we have a yen, or a thirst, or a hunger. The vast selection of words in the English language is a great gift to the speaker and writer, but it can also be confusing to the new speaker of English, what with so many choices for expression.

One of my former students began his response about desire this way: Sitting here, my heart starts beating with a lot of strength. This, from a young man who had begun speaking English less than a year before.

The following writing exercises will allow you to reach into yourself and examine the emotions of longing, yearning and desiring. See if you can communicate the depth of your feelings with the vocabulary you’re currently working with. As in the previous chapters, tell the story.

37.What do you yearn for right now that you’re not willing to wait for?

38.What do you long for that can’t be returned to you?

39.When have you longed for something that was actually within reach?

40.Do you yearn for what seems impossible?

41.What outer forces stop you from getting what you desire?

42.What makes you weep with joy? With sorrow?

43.What questions do you need answers to?

44.Do you yearn for the unknown?

45.What have you chased with urgency, passion, ferocity and desire?

46.What is worth fighting for?

47.What is not worth fighting for?

48.Have you ever longed for what was forbidden?

49.What have you desired, despite the instinct that it might not be best for you?

50.When have you received what you desired, only to find it wasn’t what you wanted?

51.Is your desire for success greater than your fear of failure?

52.Can you see the difference between your desires and your needs?

53.For what does your heart cry out?

54.When did a desire turn into a “burning desire?”