You probably have a vivid and early memory of encountering words, spoken or writ

You probably have a vivid and early memory of encountering words, spoken or written, that profoundly affected you. It might have been the first time you realized the neon sign over the convenience story had a meaning, or a word or phrase you learned and loved to repeat, or the first time you heard a foreign language, or an image you saw in your mind the first time you heard a compound word like dragonfly or Iceland. It was probably a private experience. It shook you. You might even have had a physical reaction; it was the beginning of your romance with words.
Today, write at least 300 words about the first time words profoundly affected you. Describe the situation, what led up to it, the moment of the encounter, your physical reaction, and something else that was taking place in the same setting but had nothing to do with your experience. Free free to allow your imagination to supply whichever of these elements you can’t recall. You might also try this as a poem