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A Rumi story tells of a dervish walking past a deep well. He hears a voice:

“Help. I’m a writer and I’m stuck down here.”

The dervish says, “I’ll go find out where a ladder’s at.”

“Your grammar’s atrocious,” the writer shouts up.

“Well, then, you’ll have to wait there until my grammar improves,” the dervish says, and walks on.

I feel like the writer in the well waiting for grammar to improve. And not just grammar. I understand the Sufi complaint about being too fussy about rules of speech. I’m waiting, too, for a love of language to return, an appreciation for the words we use and for style and grace in expression. Like the writer in the well, I could be in for a long wait.