Language is a Slippery Vehicle

Language is a slippery vehicle that moves every which way with the turn of a wheel, or in language; the change of a word. Language has a lot of fluidity and can be used to steer a conversation anyway the driver wishes to go; it is never constant and in any moment it can change direction so fast nobody would even know. Language, like a vehicle though, can only go so far as a vehicle can only go so far until it hits a dead end. Robert Haas describes the limit of language in his poem "The Problem of Describing Trees." There are many ways to describe a beautiful tree that "glistens like aspen" but then when you stretch out all of the words that you could possibly use, how much more can you say? There is a lot you can say then about all those traits, and you can come up with even more things! Rodney Jones in "Hubris at Zunzal" describes how saying something without thinking is similar to dumping sweet coconut milk into a large ocean, then thinking of the mistake and trying to scoop it back up, or trying to retract your words. Language is useful for conversation and human development, but it can also cause problems between people when to hurt others. To both of these poets; language is a powerful thing that can describe so many images.