Tears of wonder swell up in your eyes ...
- Thread starter mazeropa
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Welcome to the forums.
I would say "well up."
I would say "well up."
swell up, well up, it seems to me that the "up" doesn't do the job. What about I darn near cried
Exactly.
On the other hand, if you turned the sentence around, you could write "your eyes swell with tears."
I would say "your eyes well with tears". Your eyes don't swell.
I'm sorry, but are joking?
To me, "well up" is completely fine, and "I darn near cried" is nowhere near as fitting in a poem!
I happen to like it and I think it makes perfect sense; much more sense than to "well up".
I looked it up because I'm sure I had seen it used before in a literary context and Joseph Conrad used it in The Mirror of the Sea.
Eyes can actually swell - all membranes do.I would say "your eyes well with tears". Your eyes don't swell.
But it was "tears of wonder swell up in your eyes." I liked the "I darn near cried!"
I'm sorry, but "tears swell up" does not make a whole lot of sense to me.
Not that Google is definitive, but I think the fact that there are about 92 times as many results for "tears well up" as there are for "tears swell up" is pretty telling.
Interestingly enough, you can say both "Tears well up in your eyes" and "Your eyes well up with tears."
This is a totally different context than tears welling in one's eyes. Tears "welling" refers to the fact that tears "build" up. Another example would be "strong emotions welled up in her heart" etc.
@ Dimcl
True but you have to remember that this is also a poem so there is a poetic licence.
Oh and what do I know? Well up and swell up are actually synomyms, meh. Either/Or then. :/
True but you have to remember that this is also a poem so there is a poetic licence.
Oh and what do I know? Well up and swell up are actually synomyms, meh. Either/Or then. :/
Well up and swell up are, as you say, in this context, the same. But neither do the trick poetically, IMHO.
I thank you all for your comments. Perhaps if I show you the last few lines of my poem , you will see the context and be better able to suggest the proper use of "well ' or "well up". I appreciate your suggestions. I am writing poems as a hobby and for my own pleasure.
Tears
of laughter when you are with your family and friends
Tears
because you can feel the beauty of life once again
Tears
of joy as every day you feel stronger and alive
Tears
of wonder well up in your eyes
Tears
of relief for again you feel
Tears
for your spirit healed
Tears
of laughter when you are with your family and friends
Tears
because you can feel the beauty of life once again
Tears
of joy as every day you feel stronger and alive
Tears
of wonder well up in your eyes
Tears
of relief for again you feel
Tears
for your spirit healed
Tears
mazeropa
September 2006
September 2006
I think that works really 'well'! Better than I could do!
Incidentally, regarding the quote from Conrad, don't forget that Conrad wasn't writing in his native language. He does have some slightly odd phrases and uses and this one doesn't sound very elegant - as if he was getting two ideas mixed up inhis mind.
Incidentally, regarding the quote from Conrad, don't forget that Conrad wasn't writing in his native language. He does have some slightly odd phrases and uses and this one doesn't sound very elegant - as if he was getting two ideas mixed up inhis mind.
Despite having the grand title of a 'Senior Member', I haven't been in the forums that long myself! So perhaps you'd best wait for a moderator to comment.
I would guess that it's all right to post sizeable chunks of a poem to allow other members to get the context and 'feel' of the piece in order to give you the right advice about words and grammar and style, but I would imagine that you should not post poems for literary comment.
I would guess that it's all right to post sizeable chunks of a poem to allow other members to get the context and 'feel' of the piece in order to give you the right advice about words and grammar and style, but I would imagine that you should not post poems for literary comment.