You call that an aphorism?

[Shortcross]

This may, or may not work...

I thought this might be something that would appeal. Jefferson made an excellent suggestion for a short story in 'review my prose' to include the line:

'The craters will get larger before mankind tames itself.'

...which would make a great standalone aphorism.

I've often thought an aphorism thread would be great for a writing forum, as they can be inspirational/thought provoking, and the poets can join in! Well, if you think it's worth a punt, then great. Perhaps we could just reference original aphorisms as 'orig' or something, and quoted aphorisms with the author's name?

Anyhoo - I'll start us off with a couple of Don Paterson aphorism that I like (I'd put an original one up first, but haven't written any!):

We turn from the light to see.

and

Almost everything in the room will survive you. To the room, you are already a ghost. A pathetic soft thing, coming and going.

[bri h]

Sounds good Shorty.
But not everyone ('cludin' me) knows what an aphorism is? Can you 'splain in little words what they are and how we join in please? (sorry for my thickness. It's the meds. THE MEDS!) 

[Shortcross]

Google says 'a pithy observation which contains a general truth'

I thought it might make a good thread, as we all come up with these little gems as we write (poetry or prose) - they might not fit into the 'first line' or 'last line you wrote' type thread, so I thought it might make a nice little showcaser thread.

For example: In Fight Club, Marla says 'the condom is the glass slipper of our generation.' If I'd have written that (wish I had), then it would have gone into this thread. It's an aphorism as Google describes it: Pithy, and containing a general truth.

Or, is it all too obscure?

[bri h]

Got company. Back later.

[bri h]

Is,'masturbation is a handshake between friends,' an aphorism? 

[Shortcross]

Yep. I like it! The aphorism I mean.

[bri h]

Yep. I like it! The aphorism I mean.

Uhuh. A likely tail. heh heh

[DGSquared]

Oh, we missed a game and an excuse to procrastinate, er, I mean, flex those creative muscles.

Okay Shortcross, I'll play along. Your game idea looks interesting and may spur some ideas. I'm not clear on whether or not these should be of our own making or if we can borrow from another aphorist.

Here are slight variations of one I thought of though I'm sure it's been used in some way or another before:


Just because you see an open door doesn't mean you should enter through it.

           or

An open door isn't necessarily an invitation to enter. 



Hm. How was that? I'm not sure about the wording.


~Deb