Recently, someone posted a chart
on the internet meant to illustrate
how suffering, euphoria, and ferret
all come from the same root: the Proto-
Indian European bhereti, meaning to carry
or bear. Pathos is the quality that arouses
pity or sorrow. It's related to the word
suffering, in that you feel for the afflicted
one and would dearly like to bear away what
wounds them, what stands in the way of their
transport to a state of blissful elation or
contentment. But such transport can feel
ephemeral (from the Greek root meaning short-
lived, lasting but a day). Perhaps that's where
the ferret connection lies. Ferret, from the Latin
furritus or little thief: meaning the domestic
polecat who likes to sneak away with things
it finds. We would too, wouldn't we? Alone
or in groups (a busyness of ferrets), what
we wouldn't give, or take, for the sake of
bearing our sorrows better; withstanding
more than just surviving, from one
fleeting moment to the next.
Purveyors of fine poetry since 2003.
