A Word in My Pocket

The Perfect Bite

I was deep in the story—
fully inside the world the author had built—
when a single word made me pause.

Not enough to break the rhythm.
Just enough to catch my attention.

I looked it up.
Read it once. Then again.

And quietly,
I slipped it into my pocket.

I do this often.

Some people collect shells along the shoreline,
bending every so often,
drawn to something small and beautiful
the tide has left behind.

That’s what it feels like when I read.

I stay inside the story,
moving with it—

But every now and then,
I stop just long enough
to gather a word.

Words like bespoke—
that don’t often make it into conversation,
but somehow hold more weight because of it.

Or the new word insouciance—
a small discovery washed ashore.

And still,
the story keeps pulling me forward.

The pause never breaks the spell.

It becomes part of it.

Have you ever come across a word you wanted to keep?