Grammar? Srsly?

I try not to be nit-picky, so I often hold my tongue when I see people I like making the same kind of spelling mistakes over and over and over. Here are some minor corrections I wish would make it into collective consciousness:

Viola = a musical instrument or a flower.
Voilà! = Presto! (if you can't get the accent in, no worries, but at least get the letters in order)

Definitely is definitely spelled with the word 'definite' + 'ly', which is 'de' + 'finite' + 'ly'

A watchman is one man on watch.
Watchmen are several men on watch.

Socializing and the Internet

Lots of people say that your online friends aren't as important as your real life friends, but I wonder sometimes about that. For me, my real life friends are typically more important, by virtue of I have known them longer and so we share a greater history together. This doesn't mean my friends have a seniority order of importance, but it is generally the case. Many of my real life friends are people I've known since high school - I reached adulthood with these people. I've been to their weddings, and I'm watching their families grow together. It's not about the order of meeting people - it's about the bonds we make. It just happens that the longer people know each other, the more opportunities they get to create those bonds.

That said, I spend an awful lot of time with some people online, to the point where, if we knew each other in real life, it would be the equivalent of practically living together. I may never, say, sit on the same couch as them, but I still spend a large portion of my waking day with them, close to every day. There's a point to be made that not being able to share real life experiences with them doesn't make them less important, as friends go.

There are friends I've met in real life and now keep contact with them solely via the internet. There are friends I've met online only, as well. I consider each of these people to be my friends and barely register the difference between 'online' and 'offline' friends. It would be nice to see each of these people face to face, either again or for the first time, but realistically, in many cases, this just can't happen. I am grateful that I have the internet to help me keep in contact with them at all. Should I prioritize them less because of these limitations? Some people argue yes, but I am just not convinced.

Another poem

This one is one I wrote a while back, and there is actually a melody for it as well, which I obviously can't share on a blog. This one's a sonnet, so if I wanted, I could take the same tune and apply it to any sonnet, since they share a rhythmic template. I like this one better than the last one I posted because it has rhythm, rhyme, and structure, and yet still conveys a message.

The Sweetest Thing

The winter frost makes patterns on my soul
For three long moons I put my heart away
What’s left is but a hungry gaping hole
There’s nothing I can offer, do or say
And so I hibernate and wait for spring
I take myself and store me all away
I wait for all the warmth that March will bring
The winter took the sweetest thing away

Feel not for me the same angst filled sorrow
I feel, now sure of what’s to come for me
This is an opportunity to grow
I won’t call out for help a silent plea
I find my strength inside myself today
To live life while the sweetest thing’s away.