In this week's article, I've amassed a collection of what I consider to be some of the most beautiful wordplay in both song, poem, and book alike. Enjoy!

1. (book) "His heart beat faster and faster as Daisy's white face came up to his own. He knew that when he kissed this girl, and forever wed his unutterable visions to her perishable breath, his mind would never romp again like the mind of God. So he waited, listening for a moment longer to the tuning fork that had been struck upon a star. Then he kissed her. At his lips' touch she blossomed for him like a flower and the incarnation was complete." -F. Scott Fitzgerald "The Great Gatsby"

This scene Fitzgerald paints in chapter six of "The Great Gatsby" is the most famous kissing scene in American literature. It perfectly captures how one can lose themselves in their partner, and the feeling of timelessness that accompanies such passion. Fitzgerald shows us through his masterful imagery how love can give us the feeling that we can surpass our own mortalities to eclipse eternities.

2. (poem) "...for life's not a paragraph

And death i think is no parenthesis"

-E.E. Cummings "since feeling is first"

In two lines, E.E. Cummings perfectly expresses that though our lives are brief, we shouldn't allow a fear of death to hold us in, the way parenthesis hold in words.

3. (poem) "...Ah, by no wind those clouds are driven

That rustle through the unquiet Heaven

Uneasily, from morn till even,

Over the violets there that lie

In myriad types of the human eye—

Over the lilies there that wave

And weep above a nameless grave!

They wave:—from out their fragrant tops

External dews come down in drops.

They weep:—from off their delicate stems

Perennial tears descend in gems." -Edgar Allen Poe "The Valley of Unrest"

That "perennial tears descend in gems" gets me every time. This poem by Poe materializes a starkly beautiful valley where soldiers are buried. The tone is solemn, yet reverent.

4. (song) "Sound is a wave like a wave on the ocean
Moon plays the ocean like a violin
Pushing and pulling from shore to shore
Biggest melody you never heard before" -Andrew Bird "Sifters"

Andrew Bird is a superb lyricist. This particular snippet of one of his many beautiful songs contains my favorite simile ever written.

5. (poem) "The moon is a curving flower of gold,
The sky is still and blue;
The moon was made for the sky to hold,
And I for you;

The moon is a flower without a stem,
The sky is luminous;
Eternity was made for them,
To-night for us." -Sara Teasdale "Tonight"

For generations, the moon has always held a special meaning. Teasdale truly shines through in this short and sweet poem.

6. (poem) "...i fear no fate(for you are my fate,my sweet)i want

no world(for beautiful you are my world,my true)

and it’s you are whatever a moon has always meant

and whatever a sun will always sing is you

here is the deepest secret nobody knows

(here is the root of the root and the bud of the bud

and the sky of the sky of a tree called life;which grows

higher than soul can hope or mind can hide)

and this is the wonder that's keeping the stars apart

i carry your heart(i carry it in my heart)" -E.E Cummings "[i carry your heart with me(i carry it in]

The above is another excerpt from one of E.E. Cumming's numerous free form poems. He describes love in such an abstract but relatable way that I couldn't help but include it. I would highly recommend all of his work. He truly revolutionized the art of poetry.

7. (book) "Everything was beautiful, and nothing hurt." -Kurt Vonnegut, "Slaughterhouse Five"

All of Kurt Vonnegut's novels are equally as whimsical and fun to read as they are poignant. If you haven't read any of his work, I would highly recommend "Cat's Cradle," "The Sirens of Titan," "Slaughterhouse Five," and "God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater."

8. (Poem made into choral work)

"The evening hangs beneath the moon,
A silver thread on darkened dune.
With closing eyes and resting head
I know that sleep is coming soon.

Upon my pillow, safe in bed,
A thousand pictures fill my head.
I cannot sleep, my mind’s a-flight;
And yet my limbs seem made of lead.

If there are noises in the night,
A frightening shadow, flickering light,
Then I surrender unto sleep,
Where clouds of dream give second sight,

What dreams may come, both dark and deep,
Of flying wings and soaring leap
As I surrender unto sleep,
As I surrender unto sleep." Music by: Eric Whitacre Poem by: Charles Anthony Silvestri

Eric Whitacre is arguably the best choral composer of our time. The rhythm and structure of Silvestri's poem is so well composed, and Whitacre really made it timeless with his gorgeous musical ideas. Definitely worth the listen!

9. (song) "Always remember there was nothing worth sharing
Like the love that let us share our name" -The Avett Brothers "Murder in the City"

These lines of the song exemplify family love immaculately.

10. (song) "Home, let me come home
Home is wherever I'm with you" -Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros "Home"

The reason I find this snippet of "Home" to be so beautiful is that, although not particularly ornate, I think it expresses the sentiment one feels in the presence of those that they love. All of us have missed friends, family, and romantic partners before, and know that they, above any town or building, truly form what we call home.

I hope you enjoyed these excerpts as much as I do! Enjoy your week, and stay awesome!

Song of the Week: "Les Champs-Elysees" by Joe Dassin

Quote of the Week: "Decide what to be, and go be it." -The Avett Brothers "Head Full of Doubt"