Searching for the Word Beyond All Words
What if a single word could replace the world—holding sun, communion, and silence within it?
Word
Carlos Drumond de Andrade
I no longer want to consult
dictionaries in vain.
I only want the word
that will never be there
and that can’t be invented.
One that would resume
and replace the world.
More sun than the sun,
in which we all could
live in communion,
mute,
savoring it.
Reflection:
Carlos Drummond de Andrade’s poem Word speaks of a longing we all share: the desire to capture the essence of existence in something unutterable, pure, and whole. Dictionaries give us endless definitions, yet none satisfy the heart’s hunger for ultimate truth. The poet envisions a word so luminous it surpasses the sun, a word that unites us not in chatter but in silence, where communion is deeper than speech. It is a reminder that language, for all its beauty, can only point to the ineffable. Perhaps the truest connections we experience are not spoken but felt—moments of shared presence, where words fall away and only being remains.
Questions for Deeper Engagement:
- What word in your life has carried meaning far beyond its dictionary definition?
- How might silence sometimes speak more powerfully than words?
- If such a perfect word existed, what longing in your soul would it fulfill?