Cacophony (The Dancing Caterpillar)

Cacophony - defined as a harsh discordant mixture of sounds.

Synonyms: din, racket, noise, discord, dissonance, discordance, caterwauling, raucousness, screeching, jarring, stridency, grating, rasping.

How do words sound? How do they make you feel? Do we each respond to individual words in the same way?

For me the word 'sound' feels harsh; it almost makes me flinch. Why? Because I associate it with migraines when all sound is painful, when it is difficult to unjumble words from sentences. The word 'sound' is jarring and grating.

But 'cacophony' - well cacophony makes me smile. It is the joyous, racket that kids make when they play. It is the screeching, raucous din of good music played very loud. It is the glorious jumble of a busy home. It is vibrant and playful.

So why 'The Dancing Caterpillar'? I made the mistake of asking my husband what he thought of the piece - it reminded him of that book by Eric Carla. And once he said it ……