Word: Helpless
Definition: Unable to help oneself; powerless, defenceless.
Original Attempt (excerpt):
A newborn deer. Lying in the grass. Tiny, trembling, eyes not yet open. Frail and vulnerable, waiting for its mother to protect it.
Rewrite (embodied):
Helpless is the phone slipping out of your hand as you dial for help. It is the scream caught in your throat when no sound comes. It is the way your body refuses to move, even though your mind is begging it to. Helplessness is not just weakness โ it is the betrayal of your own strength when you need it most.
Rewrite (visceral):
Helpless is not the deer. Helpless is the pause in your throat when the car will not start, and you are late for the last train home. It is the child standing in the grocery aisle, clutching coins that do not add up to enough. Helpless is the moment you reach for a hand and feel only air โ the absolute certainty that no one is coming.
The Gap:
This version is third-person, external. No felt experience. The helplessness is safely located out there. The rewrite forces helplessness inside the body, where the pulse, breath, and paralysis collide.
Expansion:
Question:
When was the last time you felt helpless?
